Of Onyx and Emerald
by hikaharu
Summary: To Sakura, the world of Uchihas was filled with dark, stoic, and mysterious men... and then there was Shisui. [Pairing: Shisui x Sakura] [Non-Massacre] [Shisui's character may be OOC]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**

 **Hello! I discontinued writing The Akatasuki's Pinkette because I think it was so cliche and the writing was not really... well, well. I've read a bunch of reverse harem fics wherein Sakura is being paired with the ebony-haired men of the Uchiha clan and I just can't help but root for Shisui. This is new to me as well, lol. Shisui may be OOC and this is an understatement. HEHEHE I'M SO SORRY MINNA! Reverse harem fics usually present Shisui as an easygoing and carefree guy with a sense of humor. But Naruto Shippuden actually showed that he was somewhat humorous so don't judge.**

 **By the way, I am still struggling with mah verbs. Criticize me all you want but I really suck at tense consistency. Some words just really don't sound right to me.**

 **I do not own Naruto. Although I wish I did, I didn't, I don't, and I probably never will. All the holy ramen for Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Uchiha Shisui was a man of his words, having the ability to arrange phrases in order to stretch his power of influencing other people with his own ideals, as well as drawing them back to share their own. A real man indeed, as all the elders, shinobi, and civilians of the Uchiha clan and the Hidden Village of Leaves would suggest. After all, who would refuse or subconsciously refuse to look up to him? With his known history in the ANBU and the renowned abilities of his to teleport and use the Sharingan to higher extents, it is very unlikely for someone to not regard of him as talented.

Known for being at Uchiha Itachi's side, his skills are in line with his and it's actually quite surprising how people think that they complement one another, instead of comparing their heights of greatness. The two are equally powerful and that's it. No one would dare mess more than one Uchiha.

Itachi, possessing a sharp eye, does know a quality that his valued friend contains that others don't have an idea about. Frankly speaking, he is quite lucky to be able to notice this. After all, Shisui shows this unlikely Uchiha trait to only a few. There was Itachi, his household family, and even Sasuke. Outside their circle, no one else could have ever even paired that thought to the man of his words.

After all, who would have known that the ever so serious-looking Uchiha Shisui actually possesses a very loud mouth?

All these thoughts were circulating inside the mind of the raven-using Uchiha.

It was difficult for him not to ponder such especially if one was speaking to his cousin, who was currently cracking a joke, and a horrible one of that.

"Did you get it? Oi, Itachi." Shisui's words rang in his ears and his eyes tested a scan on his face that showed nothing but an untitled abstract of emotions. Itachi effortlessly wore a thick mask in order to challenge his cousin into decoding his reaction. But then again, the other Uchiha wasn't stupid. In fact, he was rather the opposite.

Itachi just didn't think that the joke was funny. Despite his seriousness and absence of flaws, he has had a number of moments just as awkward as this. Heck, he has suffered through even worse ones.

The truth is, he didn't feel any awkwardness from the situation facing him and he knew it was the same for the other party. Although they were technically the only ones involved in the conversation, there were around twenty people watching the two raven-haired boys intently, despite being seated at different locations and being blessed with different views and angles of the young handsome men.

For Kami's sake, his cousin shared an awful joke with him in the waiting area of Konoha's hospital. With lots of girls and boys sitting around their seats watching the poor joker fail to humor his companion.

Shifting from his seat stuck next to his friend's at the front row and knowing fully well about how the eyes of the civilians waiting after them were laid on the fan symbol on the back of his black sweater, Shisui's onyx eyes drew from his partner's own ones to the television from across the chairs.

"Hn. You're lucky to even hear a joke from me."

Countless witty banters and annoyingly hurtful replies lingered inside the mind of Itachi like ' _To hear a pathetic attempt? My luck is rather thinning, thank you very much._ ' Although these phrases were being obnoxious at the back of his brain, they were of zero significance for they were not his "real thoughts" but rather examples of replies from the perspective of an ill-mannered person. In case one would wonder why he had such "thoughts," it was because he was too smart to even wonder how other people would respond to his words.

But being the honest and open-minded being he is, Itachi simply said to him in response, "Ah, the other ones who are listening are lucky to witness you fail as well."

Itachi also had a playful side to him.

After all, he was an Uchiha, too.

A chuckle that sounded like a sigh blew its way out of Shisui's lips, followed by the cracking of his white knuckles as he extended both of his arms forward to stretch. Heavy lids took over his eyes, weighed by the unique length and darkness of his eyelashes. "I don't mind waiting but... it has been two hours already."

Itachi felt his ponytail becoming even looser and he fixed it with just one pull of the strands. He rested his back on the chair, preventing the Uchiha crest to be seen by the people from the back. He turned to him and asked using a neutral tone, "Do you have a mission after this?"

"Nope, I don't. I'm not an ANBU member anymore so I get less missions from now on," he responded while allowing himself to be amused by the advanced medical technologies being presented on the television.

"It should be fine since we're already next," Itachi said and his partner didn't miss the tiniest hint of his behavior that he most likely said such words to himself more than to him.

"Mission?"

"Aa."

"Team captain again? With whom?"

The younger Uchiha smiled at this and proudly said, "Ah, with some Team 7 members."

Shisui's mind instantly projected a hint of pink, which pushed him to produce more thoughts and questions about the subject. As far as he had known, Team 7 was led by Hatake Kakashi, his senpai at the ANBU, and the team consisted of a blonde Jinchuuriki named Naruto , Sai, and then there was his relative, Sasuke.

Naruto was a Jinchuuriki of the nine-tailed demon fox. Truth to be told, Shisui thought that he was an admirable shinobi who lifted himself from his own imperfections. Years ago, people of Konohagakure despised him and treated him as if he was the monster who attacked the village and killed a number of ninjas and innocent people. But everything had changed right now, while technically it was still a rule for people not to talk about the incident and Naruto's background, the fact that people looked up to him as a hero who is able to tame the bijuu sealed inside of him couldn't be erased from the minds of people.

There was also Sai, whom Shisui had met in the ANBU. He was a great shinobi, respectable for his swordsmanship and art skills. Shisui knew that he smiles through a lot of situations forcedly but there were tough ones wherein his smiles were not of sarcasm but they were hiding something painful. There was a time when they were on a mission and the pale artist was left with only one choice for him to do: to kill a traitor. But it was a good thing that he chose not to resort to killing and still managed to accomplish the mission.

Of course, there was his cousin, Uchiha Sasuke. It was no doubt that the second heir was close to his best friend, a bond that not many brothers share. Although at Sasuke's age of seventeen and Itachi's of twenty-two, their bond grew into something unique. The younger brother had always looked up to the older one when they were young and Itachi would just poke him at the forehead but things were different now. And it was a good kind of different, too. Sasuke acknowledged Itachi for being an excellent ninja and he would always train to surpass him and Itachi was there to point out to him the remarkable development of his skills. Their bond was a bond of mutual respect and there was more to it. Around people, it was reasonable for one to say that Sasuke was a true sibling of Itachi. It's not just with the appearance but with their similar natures as well, being stoic and strong-willed. These similarities are what make some people regard of Uchihas as dark human beings, although that was not entirely the case for Shisui himself. Shisui, just like Itachi, was an observant and open-minded person, sensing even the slightest change of behavior of a certain person and he was known for being able to read other people's minds, too. But then again, the main difference was that around certain types of people, Itachi wasn't loud or "annoying" unlike Shisui. Some things just run in the blood while some just don't.

Uzumaki Naruto, Sai, Uchiha Sasuke...

and then there was that kunoichi whose hair was weirdly, oddly, exotically pink.

He knew nothing of her, except the fact that she was a kunoichi of Team 7 and also known to be a disciple of the Godaime Hokage. He didn't even know her name. They had been on a mission once but it was a joint mission wherein his own team and the team she was in were to accomplish two different tasks that are related. But the teams never crossed their paths.

And then it struck him that she was that girl whom he had seen inside the Uchiha compound countless times.

He supposed that it was normal since she was on Sasuke's team but then there was a period around four years ago wherein he would see her young self, all bubbly with the long pink hair, outside Itachi's house... for more than what was healthy and necessary.

Shisui just had a habit of trying to decode the abstract left by the impressions of other people.

There was a one-sided silence (Itachi preferred to ignore Shisui) between the two waiting Uchihas for a load of two minutes before the door standing across the chairs opened to reveal a chocolate brown-haired woman in a nurse outfit, eyeing the two Uchihas... quite differently.

"Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui, come in," she announced, confirming the thoughts of the people sitting at the farthest area of the room who questioned theirselves an hour ago whether the two boys were the famous shinobis.

The two rose from their seats now unoccupied and casually walked toward the door to the clinic, greeted by the oddly pleasant scent of disinfectant.

The nurse led the young adults to a hall with another set of doors that were familiar to the both of them, since the physical examination was an annual obligation for all shinobis. The aging woman walked and walked, bouncing her bottom cheeks quite awfully, although the two men following close from behind her held no interest.

They entered a room with a table and an empty chair, surrounded by organized cabinets of medical supplies. There was enough space in front of the table where the ninjas would stand to be visually examined. At the side of the table was a folded medical stretcher with four legs.

The two Uchihas, being smart and keen on even the littlest of details, concluded in an instant that the brunette nurse would be the one to examine them both and one of them would have to wait for his turn.

"Uchiha Shisui, stand in the middle," the adult nurse commanded while preparing her folder and pen.

Shisui was well aware that it would take about an hour to be examined, especially since they were ninjas. But he was also well aware of the fact that Itachi had a mission after this. Clearly, they can't have him being an hour late for something of importance.

Before the other could speak, he said, "Ano, sensei, my friend here, Itachi needs to be prioritized since he has a mission to attend to afterwards. Is that fine, may I ask?"

The nurse gave him a confused look at first but attempts to explain further were cleared when she replied, "Yes, of course. Uchiha Itachi, please stand in the middle."

Itachi did as told after he gave his cousin a glance in expression of his gratitude.

At the moment, there was nothing for the other Uchiha to do except musing to himself with random thoughts like if the advanced medical technologies he had seen in the television earlier would be used during the checkup.

His thoughts transitioned to a new set roughly when the door opened to reveal a seventeen-year old girl.

With flashing pink hair.

In a very cute nurse outfit.

Shisui's eyes slightly widened at the sight of the girl who had found her way in his thoughts from earlier, the girl whom he knew little of. He eyed her with a neutral expression, studying her features while given the opportunity to see her up close. Pink, soft-looking hair. Two bright emerald eyes. Fair and white skin. And a violet diamond-shaped symbol decorated on her forehead that seemed to complement her features well.

She walked past him, not even sparing a glance, not even a terse one. The brown-haired adult looked up from her folder to the younger nurse with a surprised look on her face. Itachi and Shisui didn't miss the sly look she had given to the pinkette in between the glances on the boys.

And of course, as typical Uchihas, Shisui and Itachi felt and showed no interest toward women who would do anything to lay their hands on their bodies. Rather than being flattered or aroused, that would leave them disgusted. And it didn't help that the one in question right now was a woman who looked like she was twenty years older than them.

And what Shisui didn't miss was how the pink-haired nurse ignored the attempt of the other nurse in encouraging her to swoon over the two men in the room. He took note of every little detail in his mind. She pulled a loose strand away from her face and tucked it beneath her left ear, then she blinked once, and then she licked her lips. To him, it didn't seem like it was an act of agreement to the brunette, but rather, it looked like it was a habit of hers. As well as the habitual resting of her hand on her chest.

"Sakura-san, what brings you here?" the adult nurse questioned her. Hearing her name felt like an achievement for Shisui, not that he held any romantic feelings for the girl. Rather, it just felt like a load was carried off of his shoulders. The first piece was placed correctly on the puzzle board now.

The girl named Sakura laid a short glance on the two men behind her and just like any other nurse, she gave a small smile of acknowledgment. But to the former ANBU, it felt like she was directing her expressions more towards Itachi.

And he was right.

She shared a genuine smile with Itachi for a moment and the Uchiha returned the friendly expressions to her with the same look on his face. "Hello, Itachi-kun."

An odd feeling invaded more of Shisui's personal space and bored into him when Itachi responded to the girl, "It's nice to see you, Sakura."

Were they always this close? The other Uchiha delved into the matter seriously. Sure, the kunoichi was a member of Team 7 and a friend of Sasuke's and Shisui would see her occasionally in the Uchiha compound but his cousin was not that friendly with people, no matter how respectful he acts toward others.

Shisui may be an observant man, but there were some things fate left for him to delve into.

"Really though, what brings you here, Sakura-san?" the older medic spoke, making the kunoichi turn her back on the Uchihas and face her senpai. She licked her lips and allowed her right hand's fingers play with the collar on her chest for a second before responding, "I'm here to assist you. I'm not yet done with my shift but I finished my tasks an hour early."

The brown-haired nurse narrowed her already slit black eyes for a moment, not doing very well in hiding her annoyance. Despite this, Sakura didn't move a cheek, showing her lack of concern toward her senpai's irritation of having to share with her one of the abnormally attractive males she saved for herself. The short exchange of expressions between the medics was followed by the adult nurse's fake smile toward the pinkette, saying, "Ah, of course, Sakura-san. Please take care of Uchiha Shisui." She motioned her hand to the Uchiha standing near the door and Sakura faced him and bit her lip while doing so. Shisui was about to decode for the meaning behind the small act before the younger medic ordered him, "Please follow me."

The two exited the clinic and then entered through the door just next to the room. The room had the same interior and arrangement of furnitures to that of the previous room.

Shisui figured that he was supposed to stand a meter away from the table, the same distance Itachi stood on when he was ordered by the previous medic.

While Sakura was busying her upper half with the challenge of wearing the doctor coat while making herself seem professional, she bit her lip again and spoke to the man in front of her.

"Uchiha Shisui, right?"

Shisui simply nodded.

Sakura straightened her coat before fully facing him. She tilted her head a little to the side and nervously smiled. "Ah, sorry about not introducing myself earlier."

"You were interrupted," he responded in a neutral tone.

"Right, uh, my name is Haruno Sakura. You can call me Sakura, Shisui-san."

The Uchiha frowned at the honorific. Sure, it was more formal but that was the problem. He didn't miss the difference between the way she called his cousins using the kun as an honorific and the way she had just called him now.

But he wasn't about to just let the moment pass. There was something in the situation that forced his mind to control his lips and act Uchiha-less.

"I suppose I can call you whatever I want just like you did with me, Sakura- _chan_."

And that was it.

The smile on Sakura's face faded. No, her lips still formed a smile, her eyes still closed from smiling, but her eyebrows made the expression different. The pink brows on her face had met between her eyes and something was exploding beneath those eyelids of hers that were covering her eyes.

Sakura opened her eyes and presented him a fake angelic smile that gave off an evil aura around. " _Shisui_ , I don't think it would be necessary to examine you as a newly 'physically disabled shinobi,' ne?"

Shisui played a smirk on his face for her and replied, "Necessary or not, I don't think that would happen, _sensei_."

Sure, doctors are also referred to as senseis and she was normally called with such an honorific but to hear that from the Uchiha in front of her made it seem like the honorific was italicized if written.

And so she cracked her white knuckles.

"Do as I say," she ordered with authority in her voice.

The black-haired man was amused at the order and playfully raised an eyebrow at her.

In the first thirty minutes, Sakura threw orders at the Uchiha, switching between "barking mode" and "harshly cold mode" and while the Sharingan user obeyed her, it was hard for the kunoichi to make him obey her in an instant, without having him to comment at everything she says or does. The first half of the hour produced results of which the medic took note of regarding his weight, height, BMI, and the likes. It was still the first half yet the pinkette already had regrets of being the helpful and courteous little lady she was towards the brunette medic.

And at that moment, Shisui discovered a new piece to continue the puzzle.

"Shisui, please take your top off," the pinkette managed to say while wearing a poker face on. Sakura knew that the sentence that had just left her mouth would steer the conversation into a different route and as much as she didn't want things like that to happen, she was still a medical ninja and being the prized apprentice of the legendary sannin, she can't just allow such a simple sentence make people question her professionalism.

"Hiding your expressions well now, are we?" Shisui challenged her, able to read her mind. A second later, the kunoichi's Inner Sakura was dangerously sending blows to the air while screaming "SHANNARO!" for countless times.

The pink-haired girl closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. Screw her damn morals. She wished she had just taken off and rested at her home while eating sweets.

"Take your top off, Shisui."

A sly grin spread across his face.

"Not until you ask me nicely, Sakura- _chan_."

" _Shannaro! Kono baka!_ " Sakura inwardly screamed. What the hell did she do to deserve this kind of treatment? She couldn't remember any sin that she had committed that could possibly push the Uchiha to torment her with such an... obnoxious personality. He was the first to be rude to her! First impressions were very important to her, to just about anybody. She hated to think that there was something more to him even if she was sure there was a hell lot. Why can't he just be like her bastard of a teammate? Quiet, quite mysterious with the infamous "hn" responses.

Sakura was itching to create a fist-sized hole on his stomach right now.

Mentally rolling her eyes, she dramatically exclaimed in the most "genin days" way she could pull off, "Ne, can you take off your top for me, please, Shisui- _kun_?"

The Uchiha grinned at her annoyingly. "Since you insist." Then he pulled off his black sweater so easily, revealing a bare white upper half which was pictured of a perky chest, broad shoulders, and a toned abdomen.

Naruto was a good shinobi, excellent in performing a various range of jutsus, even if it meant taking advantage of the hormonal issues every boy and girl deal with. It was easy for him to cause Sakura's nose to bleed with his Boy on Boy Technique and his latest one, the Reverse Harem Technique.

Imagine Sakura's expression being replaced with the face she always makes when Naruto and his subordinate, Konohamaru, perform those inappropriate jutsus.

However, Sakura was also good at hiding things whenever she wanted to.

She masked her "indecent" expression well, choosing to wear an impassive one in order to challenge the mind-reading Uchiha. She knew he could easily read her mind but that was because she was being too open about it. Heck, she could even fake even faker smiles compared to Sai's ability.

"Thank you for that. It's unfortunate on my part to be able to witness you in that... form but ah, duties are important to me, after all," she spoke with a lifted chin while her eyes laid on the folder's contents, not daring to lay unnecessary glances at the Uchiha's bare form.

A "tch" was heard from across the room.

That was when Sakura looked up from her folder.

"Yeah, it must be unfortunate for you to waste such an opportunity," the dark-haired ANBU leader spoke, slyly grinning at her feet behind the table.

Sakura slammed the folder on the brown table and tightly clenched her fists, exclaiming, "Can't you just shut the hell up like the other Uchihas?!"

Wide emerald eyes blazed intensely, the glowing flames in each orb heightening and directing the sparks to his two onyx orbs complemented by the dark and long eyelashes surrounding his eyes, watching her like she was some kind of fun and challenging picture puzzle.

"That's the thing, I'm not 'other Uchihas'."

Sakura neared the half-naked man, every step a stomp, every glance a glare, and every breath a huff.

Truth to be told, Shisui didn't know just what plan she had in mind. After all, she didn't respond to his annoyingly witty remark. Every second it took for her to walk towards him with a hell-like aura radiating around her body made him feel some kind of... excitement.

And oh boy, how the Uchiha just stood there, knowing not a single thing to do.

Sakura was right in front of the black-haired shinobi, her left elbow resting on the man's right shoulder to pin him on where he stood and her right hand ready to powerfully flick his forehead that wasn't even protected by a hitae-ate.

And what the boy couldn't take was how her face was just an inch away from his, her jade eyes blazing right into his pitch ones.

Shisui could feel the warmth of her breath wrapping around his neck and quite frankly, he didn't know what to feel about it but what he knew was that he wasn't complaining about their positions. While he could simply escape with his Body Flicker Technique, he held nothing against their current situation either.

The girl she was trying to solve from afar was now so close to his eyes.

"One flick on your forehead can send you flying through the hospital walls, do you want that?" her deeply set voice brushed against his chin.

Before he could even respond, Sakura pressed her thumb against his forehead using the hand that she was supposed to use to flick it. A green chakra radiated from her thumb and entered his brain, passing through all the passages in his chakra system. A cool yet pleasant feeling surged through his whole body and Shisui attempted to take advantage of the situation before him to scan her face's features up close and unlock the fiery mystery beneath her green eyes, that were looking down, in scrutiny. It stayed like that for five whole minutes until she removed contact from his face.

Sakura walked away from him and lifted the folder from the table to write off some things. Shisui stared at her as she undressed the outermost layer of her clothes, the doctor's coat, to reveal her cream colored nurse outfit.

"You're dismissed," she said, expecting the Uchiha to put back his top and exit the room. And he did. But he wasn't determined to leave yet, he was both impressed and dissatisfied at how she was so good and quick with her work. Kami, she finished twenty-five minutes early.

Shisui inhaled before readying himself.

"May I accompany you, _sensei_?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:**

 **I'm sorry, my last chapter ended badly. Its ending sucked and I promise to make it up to you lol.**

 **I do not own Naruto. I do not own Sakura. I do not own Sasuke. I do not own Shisui. I do not own Itachi. I do not own the Uchihas. Although, I wish I did own the Uchihas.**

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It has already been a week since the physical examination.

That night, Shisui had asked Sakura for permission to accompany her to her apartment but much to her annoyance and to his dismay, the kunoichi bluntly turned him down.

Sakura didn't know why he wanted to act like a gentleman. Was it his way of making up to her for his horribly upsetting manners? Was it his way to erase her impression of him and the newly surfacing impressions of the Uchiha clan?

Or was it just another way for him to continue on vexing her?

Either way, he managed to be of annoyance, for that night, that terrible night, he had persisted on accompanying her with Sakura annoyedly ignoring him. He would catch up to her if she was walking too fast, stop for her if she was pretending to pick something that she had "accidentally" dropped, and would even go as far as to drag her forcefully if she was purposely walking in slow motion.

Either way, he still managed to accompany her to her apartment.

The main reason as to why the pinkette didn't want the dark-haired man to be in her company in going to her home was that she despised the idea of him knowing her location or address. While she was certain that it didn't require too much of his intelligence as an ANBU shinobi to locate her home by himself alone, there was just no need to question her if she enjoyed the idea of the Uchiha teleporting to her window whenever he felt like screaming at her with mocking honorifics. She didn't want him to annoy her further.

For Kami's sake, it was just annoying!

Usually, around her friends, especially the loudmouthed ones, she would act like a loudmouth as well, and even prize them with their well-deserved chakra-powered punches. There was Naruto who once ended up for a week at the hospital because the pinkette had found him attempting to peek at the women's bathhouse. There was Sai, who wasn't much of a talker, but a highly unbearable human being if he tried. Unfortunately for her, Sai had trained himself and enhanced his reaction time in order to effectively dodge the teammate's predicted blows. This usually happens when he calls her Ugly, Hag or Bitch. Sasuke was an exception, though. Sasuke usually behaves himself around his teammates and he would only earn the kunoichi's hits if they were training. Well, maybe the times when he would be in a rivalry with Naruto over little things like "Who Can Eat More Rounds of Rice?" were exceptional, too. Even outside their team, Sakura treated people like this. Kiba once tried to pull a really, really, really horrible prank on Naruto but Sakura stomped on his left foot for good.

But despite all of it, Sakura treated Shisui differently.

Shisui was just as loud and annoying as Naruto but Sakura knew he was well aware of it, of how she might respond to his vexing. She knew too damn well that he was the observant type and so he knew the consequences of his actions but what really annoyed Sakura was a certain question that had lingered far too long inside her thick forehead: _Why the hell is he doing it on purpose?_

Naruto was always loud and annoying because, well, it's just so... Naruto. Believe it or not, Sakura's harsh treatment toward the Kyuubi vessel was one way to show her friendly affections toward the guy who always cheers her up. Yes, she was being friendly by offering the poor guy some bruises and fractured bones. Yes, she definitely was.

It was different for Shisui.

For one whole week, she had not attempted to send him a dangerous blow that could have him end up landing on the other side of the world. No, she hadn't tried to smack him on the head that would have his body traveling to the underworld, passing through the very thick layers of the Earth's surface. And nope, Sakura didn't even try to beat him up until he would be left incurable by even a medical ninja of her level, and even by the legendary sannin, Tsunade. What Sakura did was even harsher, more cruel, more evil, more inhumane...

She did nothing.

She would simply ignore him.

For one whole week, Sakura began to notice the Uchiha more and more in every crowd she encounters. Or was it because he was becoming more and more noticeable? Or were the two things actually the same thing? Nope, even a bright and intelligent shinobi like her couldn't find an answer to the impossible question.

It started on the second day when Sakura passed by the Uchiha in the hallway by the Hokage's office. Sakura was off to see her shishou to send her a report regarding the matter on the physical examinations. Shisui had just exited the office and though for common people, it was very very very challenging to notice his small movements, it was nearly impossible for Sakura. Nearly. She had noticed that as soon as they passed by each other's bodies, the Uchiha's eyes directed to her own for a split second. It was as if he was expecting her to notice or approach him? Or was it a look of recognition? Or was it a look that said "That was only a one-time thing. I mean, c'mon, you can't seriously think you can easily have this Uchiha."

Either way, it caused her temples to ache.

It was always like that whenever they encounter each other. Shisui would glance at her, maybe one or more times, but on the other hand, Sakura would simply ignore his existence, not even bothering to return a glance as well. She just couldn't give a damn to someone she could care less about. Or maybe it was better said if she meant it in a way that she couldn't help but give a damn if this person were to annoy her further? After all, it was a pattern she had noticed in their first night of meeting each other. Wait, did she really care if he was being annoying? Was she pitying herself?

So many questions. So many unanswered.

Sakura stopped letting the thoughts about _him_ get to her mind as she ran her two hands through her soft pink tresses. Through the window, the sky outside informed her that it was afternoon already. She stood up from the dining chair and observed the small brown basket full of dark indigo-colored chakra pills standing on the dining table. Once again, she lifted one from the pile and tossed it into her open mouth to test its taste. It was definitely not sweet, nor spicy, but it did taste like tomatoes. She happily crunched it inside her mouth until it was swallowable, feeling more energized and even happier about its perfection. The corners of her pink lips tugged upwards as she looked down at the pink note attached to the basket's handle.

The small brown basket was effortlessly carried by the pinkette, resting the weight of the handle and the whole object on her right elbow. She exited her apartment room and locked the door before she walked out of the whole complex itself.

She was now walking along with the villagers of the Hidden Leaf Village in the streets with roads being occupied by the shadows of the busy people, casually talking, casually shopping, or for some, just casually taking a stroll.

Her two green eyes observed the movements of her walking feet, silently appreciating the very trivial way of how her own shadow could never stop mimicking the normal swaying of her hips, the unnoticeable swinging of her arms, and the stops and turns of her legs.

Although, the small happiness immediately died when she realized that she was only enjoying the company of her shadow at the moment. The males of her team were all off on a three-week duration of a mission to Iwagakure ever since she had helped out on the physical examination. Just two days ago, her rival-turned-best-friend, Yamanaka Ino, was also off on a mission to Sunagakure for the enhancement of the vegetation in such a literally deserted place. While she knew not a thing about the female blonde's mission duration, such a mission of significance would obviously take up about three weeks to a full month, if it was just teaching them how to grow some nutritious plants. Inner Sakura would really die of boredom if Ino's mission was to help out the Hidden Sand Village until the village would grow trees.

There was no one to turn to right now. Sakura had gone out with Hyuuga Hinata for two times already in this week. They would have their girly chats in cafes, with the pinkette sharing all sorts of stories about her Uzumaki teammate and even going as far as to share her some tips about attracting the blonde. It was no secret to their circle of friends that the Kyuubi vessel was quite, rather, obsessively infatuated with the Haruno in the past. But it was a good thing that the Hyuuga heiress held no grudges towards her. And while Sakura genuinely enjoyed her company, it was rather weird on her part to keep on inviting the Byakugan princess for girly chats in peaceful cafes. She knew better than to disturb her daily trainings.

The boredom and loneliness went on and on, even to the extent wherein Sakura begged her shishou for a mission but the granddaughter of the First Hokage refused to her request straightforwardly. With the physical examinations of the shinobi of all levels over, she had a tough assignment of updating the personal information of every ninja from genin to jounin. Although, deep in the kunoichi's heart, she thought that such a tough task was supposed to be manned by the Hokage itself. But then again, she preferred to do the Hokage's paperworks rather then losing the will to live out of boredom and solitude.

The train of thoughts inside the pinkette's head stilled until it came to a full stop when she had stopped walking. She lifted her chin up to look at the grand entrance before her. The red and white emblem of the Uchiha district stood out from the black metals that supported its weight, forming an open gate. When she was young, the entrance used to be a pale green kind of color. It just reminded her of the times when she was being so annoying towards a certain teammate of hers. Kami, she didn't even want to remember it.

Sakura's right foot landed a step on the grounds of the compound, casually taking a stroll around. She was so familiar with the town-like place and knew where to stop and take a turn. Her two feet led her to one of the biggest buildings of the famed district, the manor that was occupied by Uchiha Sasuke's household members of four. They were damn rich, alright, but Sasuke never talked about it. Sakura knew he deeply cared for his family but there was a time when he tensed when they conversed about family pressure. The topic was like an off-limits area to the seventeen-year old Uchiha.

Sakura stood in front of the traditionally styled porch. The big house was empty and locked, she concluded for she couldn't sense any living signatures inside the building. Sasuke and his older brother, Itachi, were out on a mission, that was for sure. Maybe their parents were busy working, too. Uchiha Fugaku was, after all, the head of the Leaf Police Force, entirely filled with Uchihas. As for Uchiha Mikoto's whereabouts, the pinkette had no clue.

"Looking for Sasuke?" a familiar voice traveled through the air out of nowhere, catching the kunoichi off of her own guard. Her slender body jerked awkwardly as her face turned to the source of the voice, automatically widening her surprised eyes.

Shisui.

"Shannaro!" she couldn't help but yell at him instinctively. The black-haired man chuckled at her reaction and neared her feet's location, keeping an appropriate distance from her for he was careful not to invade her personal space. Inner Sakura cursed him for his renowned skill at teleportation techniques.

"You surprised me, you idiot," she growled, not anymore caring about the whole matter on the silent treatment. Well, maybe for now.

Shisui's onyx eyes scanned her face for a moment, studying her for whatever intentions she had. That was until his eyes landed on the small brown basket that had nearly permitted its contents to scatter around on the ground when she had earlier jerked out of surprise.

"You're going to give that to Sasuke?" he asked.

Of course, this kind of topic was quite sensitive to the pinkette and by sensitive, any reminder about _him_ would just give away her thoughts about _him_ to just anyone, to even the densest person.

Sakura's emerald eyes grew in width and her bright orbs rapidly moved to and from different directions as she attempted to look at anything but the sharp eyes of the Uchiha standing before her. The fair skin around her cheeks had been stained into a rosy kind of color, warmth surging through her face. She bit her lower lip and grasped the fabric around her collarbone using her right hand out of habit.

Definitely, even the densest person could read her mind from all the small details she was dangerously presenting.

Shisui was greeted with an odd feeling as his eyes studied every movement that the kunoichi before him performed. She was... vulnerable. The girl with the quickest of tempers and the superhuman strength that could turn large boulders into dust was showing a different side to her strong image and it was a puzzle piece that the Uchiha didn't want to be the main source of attention of the viewers if they saw the whole picture of the puzzle.

And then his eyes laid on the basket's contents.

Chakra pills?

He breathed through his nose, enhancing the scent-smelling skill ten times the normal.

He smelled tomatoes. In the basket.

Chakra pills. Tomato flavored. Uchiha Sasuke.

"So you care for Sasuke's health?" Shisui asked, not out of curiosity, not even with the intentions of revealing her secrets, but... he honestly didn't know.

"I don't like him!" she instantly defended.

"I never mentioned anything about you liking him, Sakura-chan."

With that one sentence, the red streaks on the pinkette's cheeks grew even redder, which seemed to trigger the redness of her whole face as well. Sakura was out of words, she didn't know what to say. Sometimes, she wasn't so bright.

Shisui took one step to close the space between them despite noticing Sakura's attempts in backing away from his body. Although, Shisui showed no emotion. He closed their distance until Sakura's back touched the post around the porch.

Sakura didn't know what to do. Her lips were visibly parted but not a word would roll off of her tongue. Shisui was invading her personal space and she didn't like the heavy feeling it brought on her. He glued his palms on the wall, both just inches away from her face, pinning her so that she couldn't escape or move. His height advantage caused him to feel something warm and pleasant on his neck, the breath that was coming out of Sakura's soft pink lips, the breath that contained no words from the speechless girl.

Onyx and emerald.

Sakura could escape when she wanted to but there was still that feeling left from just the revelation of her secret romantic feelings to a stranger, to an Uchiha! How the hell was she supposed to act, knowing fully well that the man she has loved up until now could learn about her real feelings especially because the chances of hearing it from his loudmouth of a cousin were probable to happen?! Highly probable!

It was as if the feeling was also weighing her body, immobilizing her. What a kunoichi she was, all right.

She could feel Shisui's jet black eyes boring right into her own jade ones, but she avoided his gaze and set her own at the ground.

Other than that heavy feeling of worry, there was an odd feeling that surged right through her veins. It was the strangely odd feeling of being physically attached so close to the man whom she had been keeping a safe distance away from for seven whole days and nights.

For seven days, they were so far away from each other. Yeah, it wasn't uncomfortable for her with her face just about five inches away from his all of a sudden. Not uncomfortable at all.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

As Shisui's question left his lips, his words traveled through the thin space between their faces, his deep voice being the deepest it has ever been, his dark eyes darkening into the darkest shade of black.

Sakura still couldn't set her eyes at him. It was insane and impossible. In the vulnerable state she was currently in, she would probably melt just from the warmth of his breath wrapping around her neck.

Nevertheless, she needed to defend herself.

"What do you expect? I barely even know you," she coldly responded. It was true though that she didn't know anything about him except for his famed reputation as well as the fact that he was an extremely irritating loudmouth.

He stared down at her like she was a puzzle that he so badly wanted to solve. Sakura didn't want to appear weak to him so she stood up for his challenge and locked her eyes on his, biting her lower lip so hard that it was nearly about to rip and bleed from pink to red.

His face showed no emotion at all. Jade colored eyes searched his face for a clue, for something, for something, just something to answer the question that has been tickling the walls of her mind for a whole week now. They traveled over his fair and smooth skin to his uniquely mysterious eyes. The weight of his own black orbs heavily weighed on her own, that were subconsciously appreciating the length of his thick eyelashes.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

Sakura couldn't take it. Every drop of blood inside of her was heating, burning, boiling until they were ready to evaporate into her face, in which her cheeks were reddening and reddening as every second coolly passed by like a breeze.

" _Why_? Why are _you_ purposely annoying me?!"

There was silence for a moment.

Shisui's sable eyes transitioned to a different presentation of a different emotion as he narrowed both at the flushed face of the girl whom he had pinned against the wall.

And as time seemed to laze, the ebony-haired man snapped out of it, whatever it was, and distanced himself away from the pink-haired kunoichi, freeing her from his own cage at last.

Sakura mentally sighed over her freedom, as if a war had already ended inside her mind and everyone no longer slept in fear of being ambushed by sexy raven-haired men.

She's definitely got to stop it. Whatever it was.

"Sakura."

The tiny parade of victory beneath her large forehead was silenced.

She eyed a curious glance at the Uchiha before him, wondering what he was going to say. She didn't miss the part wherein he actually called her while dropping the childish honorific. The seriousness in his tone reached her instincts and got the better of her curiosity.

Sakura widened her emerald eyes to be greeted by a pair of serious onyx eyes.

"I promise not to tell your secret to anyone," he spoke in a deep voice.

The tiny parade of victory beneath her large forehead joyfully resumed.

"That is, if you go out with me on a date," Shisui said, a playful smirk playing on his serious face.

Sakura's lips parted, in shock, in surprise, in disbelief, in what else? Was she taken aback? Was she currently dumbfounded? What was she doing? What the hell was she going to say? What the hell was she going to do? What was Inner Sakura doing all this time? Why the hell was Inner Sakura being silent? Was she at a loss for words, too? Was she taken aback? Was she dumbfounded as well? What the hell?

"Shannaro..."

The tiny parade of victory beneath her large forehead had died.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**

 **I'm sorry for the past tenses, guys. No, they're not dead. They just sound better in past tense.**

 **It's sad that I don't and can't own Naruto. I don't and can't even own a legit manga copy. Why must you be so cruel, Life?**

* * *

Sakura was an outgoing person.

Of course, the villagers of Konoha who recognize the kunoichi would often see her out in the streets, casually taking strolls with her beloved team of men. It took a silver-haired jounin who could never seem to take his eyes off of a porn book, an extremely blunt and rude artist, a dark human being who seemed to only have the words "hn" and "tch" in his vocabulary, and a painfully annoying blonde known for being the most surpsing ninja of the village, to fill the bonds that were the main foundation of her reputation as an outgoing kunoichi. At her age, people would still see her as a blabbermouth smacking against an even bigger blabbermouth, who was none other than a certain tan-skinned Jinchuuriki with three litte whiskers on each cheek.

She was always out with Team 7.

And that was clearly the problem here.

Don't get her wrong though, she held onto her team dearly and cared for every single member despite the flaws in their words, behaviors, and personalities. She treated her team in the same way she would treat her first family. It took seven years for them to fill this special bond. Although it was a different case for Sai, time was just a pebble on the road. A speck even.

But seriously, that was the problem here.

Always being seen with Team 7, people would think that she was a very loyal member and she really was but the truth was so unbearable that it blinded people from seeing what the problem really was.

She was loyal, all right.

She was loyal to the men of her team.

The highly, extremely, achingly, severely overprotective men of Team 7.

And that was an understatement.

They would keep everything about her to theirselves and their selves only. It was the norm for them to prevent any other men to enjoy the opportunities of adoring her soft, shortly cut pink tresses, her wide and bright green eyes, and even the violet colored diamond on her forehead that seemed to value emphasis on her womanliness.

Naruto once misunderstood Inuzuka Kiba, insanely out of his mind to go on his way and think that the dog-using shinobi was attempting to flirt his way to the kunoichi's delicate heart and even going as far as to fart on his sharp-looking face on purpose, with the stock knowledge of his nose being gifted for its sensitivity that was a thousand times better to that of the normal human nose.

While Team 7 was out on a mission, Kakashi didn't miss on the very sly way their male client would eye at their pinkette's back, especially at the bottom of her spine. Although, the matter with that old pervert was cleared when the silver-haired jounin had announced to his team, "Watch out for approaching enemies, everyone. Strictly use your eyes for such purpose only."

Sai, believe it or not, even stood up for her. Well, there _was_ really a time when the brown-haired Inuzuka attempted to flirt with their female teammate and Sai was the only one present to witness the situation that would have pushed the other males to blow a combined jutsu of Rasengan, Chidori, and Raikiri at the flirt. The pale artist didn't do anything harsh, however. At least that was what he thought. As they were eating at the dango shop, Kiba had told Sakura that the barking Akamaru meant to say that she was a lovely and beautiful lady, which was an obvious lie and way for him to grab the chance to flatter the pinkette without much hassle. Before Sakura could even react, the black-haired painter told the flirt, "Oh, you and Akamaru understand each other? Can you please tell your dog that he smells so good that he smells even better than his owner?" Kiba never made an attempt towards the kunoichi since then.

Team 7 consisted of men of which three are overprotective and one is Sasuke.

The stoic and easily irritated male cared for Sakura and her dignity, all right, but the thing is, being a male named Uchiha Sasuke meant that his way of protecting the pinkette was quite different to that of the other men in the team. That simply meant that he would look and act the same even around situations wherein someone would make an attempt to break into the doors of the pink-haired medic's heart. But such was only the case if the people of Team 7 were around. There was this one time when the whole team was out on a mission to escort a male client whose age was near the team's own (minus Kakashi). The events transitioned similarly to that of their first ever B-rank mission back when they were genins. The client had been a target by a small group of ninjas and he was badly hurt by them. Of course, Sakura, being the team medic, came to the aid of the injured man and was unknowingly attracting him with her beautiful face of genuine concern and innocence. And then there was Sasuke, who was the only one able to notice the client's infatuation towards his female teammate. No one, not a single person, not a single being, knew a thing of that fateful night. A night, in which a certain Uchiha silently kidnapped the client while the team was resting in the woods and harshly, coldly, cruelly, threatened him to never ever look or speak to the girl.

An Uchiha boiling in anger and rage would obviously appear with blood red eyes.

Nevertheless, the mission still turned out okay without ending up with problems possibly like a client complaining to the Hokage how a certain escort casted an inhumane genjutsu on him that caused his whole heart to shut down in fear of loving someone else again.

Team 7 was there to care for her, protect her from the rapidly rising and uncontrollable hormones of the various men of the world.

And that was clearly the problem that other people don't see.

Sakura wasn't allowed to date. Even if she was, she wasn't.

Those were the thoughts circulating inside the mind of the girl dressed in dark red, with a white circular emblem printed at the back.

At the moment, she was still facing the man who had just asked, rather, _forced_ her to go out on a simple date with him.

Clearly, the situation had an advantage to it: the absence of the Team 7 men.

"Shannaro..."

The tall Uchiha stood on the same ground with the same expression on his face, if not, with a slight tinge of amusement being worn by his two eyes and his smirking lips. Sakura gaped at him with confusion and terror, presenting a face that was written with all the other adjectives that could possibly capture the impossible emotion between those eyes and lips.

"If I'm not mistaken, shannaro means 'hell yeah,' Sakura-chan," the man said while running his left hand through the strands of shadowy color.

"Wha-!" Sakura stopped herself before emitting another use of her infamously regarded catchphrase.

"Hell yeah? So does that mean you're willing to date me?"

"No!"

Shisui took a few steps to effortlessly reach her side, bend his knees, lift a single chakra pill from the basket, stand up, and toss the pale indigo-colored sphere into his mouth.

A short sound of crunching was heard before he managed to say, "Tomatoes?"

Sakura was not entirely sure what to do if the man who was standing next to her continued on speaking. The topic was seriously transitioning into another subject, a predicted subject. It was the power of tomatoes.

"What of it?" she challenged him before mentally smacking her face for doing so. Inner Sakura helped by tightening her own hands around her own neck, as if she had already lost the will to live.

"Nothing, maybe you coincidentally flavored the pills with my little cousin's favorite food."

"No, I didn't-! I didn't... know."

"It sure doesn't look like it with your face all red."

Sakura turned her back on him, not favoring the idea of showing her vulnerable state to the Uchiha. Was she that obvious, really? She wasn't, right? In the world of love and women, there was just no way a woman could go through a conversation with their love as a subject with just a straight pale face. There has to be some tinge of red or a feel of heat.

"Look, there's nothing, okay? Sasuke-kun's just my teammate," she snapped.

The Uchiha questioningly raised a dark brow at her while biting his bottom lip. "Sasuke- _kun_?"

His two ebony orbs chased her two jade eyes that were running away from his gaze, covered by her weighing eyelids that seemed to want to put the girl in an eternal slumber for the rest of her life.

But Sakura didn't want to be challenged and then defeated just like that. She wanted to stand up for herself, to claim that she wasn't as shallow as she looked like. No one should dare mess with her unless they wanted to land at the other end of the world with her chakra-powered jab.

"We're just friends," she said, placing the basket on the traditional end table inside the porch of her friend's manor while masking her face with the typical Uchiha emotion, the holy emotionless emotion.

"Well, if you say it that way, then I guess it wouldn't matter to you if he heard a 'lie' about his teammate's feelings for him from his cousin, right?"

"Teme! I said there's nothing!" the pinkette yelled with her two eyes melting into the Uchiha's own calm ones.

But then again, he wasn't done with her yet.

"Just a yes or no, Sakura."

Damn. It felt odd whenever he dropped the "chan." It just made her feel... womanly.

Sakura walked out of the porch area, not even bothering to think about laying terse glances on the pressing man, despite how his presence seemed to radiate a certain aura that caused her to be slightly, just slightly, intimidated.

There was just something about him that she hated so much. It could be argued that it was his strikingly conspicuous existence in every crowd she sees. Hell, she was highly aware of the hormonal issues Inner Sakura had buried deep, deep, deep inside her mind whenever she would feel the overwhelming aura of his that alerted her that he was near.

"Sakura."

The odd sensation was surging through her insides again.

It took every ounce of willpower for Sakura to turn to him, face him with the most fierest of looks, fiercely eyeing him like he was no challenge to her.

"One date, _Shisui_."

* * *

As the rosette followed the path to wherever her sandaled feet were taking her, it took a moment for her brain to register the fact that she had just gone out of the Uchiha compound and had then entered through the doorway of her own clinic at the central hospital of Konoha.

The Haruno sauntered her way to her neatly organized metallic desk, ornamented with a navy blue colored table lamp, a bouquet of daisies held by the hole of her glossy ivory vase, and a very thick stack of folders with very thick stack of papers inserted in each.

She sighed as she rested her rear on the black office chair, arranging the thick pile of folders into four thinner piles. The files were classified by rank, one stack each for the genins, chuunins, jounins, and the ANBU. Fishing a retractable pen out of the unnoticeable pocket on her pale pink medic skirt, she began to update the medical status of each shinobi that had been examined from a week back.

Resting her left elbow on the table surface, she placed her left palm on her forehead, cupping it gently to soothe out the mild pain occurring in between her temples. She flipped a page, ticked a few boxes, wrote a recommendation, flipped a page again, and then wrote her signature. The same process went on and on and on and on until she had written off for three hours straight in one sitting.

This task was supposed to be done by the Godaime Hokage herself, she cursed to herself. But as much as she didn't want to disappoint her shishou, she didn't want to spend a number of hours failing to relieve her big forehead from the stress.

Naruto had a lot of coping up to do if he wanted to become the Hokage.

Sakura cursed to herself. She had written off three-fourths already of the shinobi files. Three days ago, she had finished the medical files of the ANBU. Two days back, she had written off the papers for the genins. Hell, there were a lot of them this year and she honestly didn't have an idea what could have triggered the jounins to pass so many students. Not that it was unfair for their generation to have only passed nine rookies out of twenty-seven Academy students. Not that it was unfair, at all.

Yesterday, though, she had written off the medical files for the chuunins like crazy, wanting so bad to finish the Hokage's severely laborious assignment for her as fast as possible. But it ended up with a very sore hand that she was forced to heal with what little energy she had left, though effortlessly.

At the moment, pain seared over the base of her right thumb, punishing her for not even bothering to take a short break for the past three hours. Although she had started writing off the files for the chuunins the day before, she had just finished it right now.

She still had about three and a half more hours to spend for the jounin medical files.

Among the thirteen shinobi in their age group, nine could only be classified as jounins. In Team 7, there was Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura herself. Outside their team, there was Rock Lee, Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji. As for the other shinobi, they became part of the ANBU squads, going through intensive training in order to do S-rank missions that included marking off some pictures in the bingo book.

Sakura continued going through the folders for the first hour. It was surprisingly easier compared to the other ranks. The fact that she recognized most of the jounins somewhat lifted half of the workload for her. Maybe she was going to finish this an hour early.

Sakura flipped open the next folder, interest sparking through her boredom-and-stress infected body as she silently read the name and image printed on the paper.

Uchiha Shisui.

She frowned at the sight of his files under the jounin rank, then it struck her that he had quitted from the ANBU organization just a few months ago. She read the pieces of information printed on the paper, instead of taking a quick scan like what she did with the rest. Shisui was strong, active, and healthy, based on the readings but the pinkette took notice on the several cases he had back when he went on missions as an ANBU captain.

There were cases wherein his sight would dim and blacken.

 _Is he turning blind?_

No, that was rather impossible. Sakura was well aware of how eyes would naturally move and behave if they were turning blind because of inherited doujutsu.

But then again, it was Shisui.

He would probably hide it from people he didn't want to spread worry across. And he damn hid it well.

The medic mused over the paper in front of her. It was not really possible for him to control the natural movements of his eyes every single time. That was just not the way things would work.

She read his cases. There were only three rare happenings of which he temporarily became blind and it usually lasted for twenty-four hours at most. She knew that it was the overuse of his Sharingan to higher levels. She had heard that kind of lesson being taught to her by her shishou but then again, there was no cure found yet.

Then what the hell was she going to write in the recommendation part?

Sakura flipped onto the next folder.

* * *

It was already nine o'clock in the evening when Sakura had already finished her shishou's assignment. Her back curved inwardly as she extended both of her tired arms for a stretch, letting out a light yawn in the process. Her eyelids were carrying heavy weights as she lifelessly gaped at the blank wall with a blank look.

Without much of an effort, Sakura arranged the piles of folders before bearing the air-like weight (at least, that was the case for her), using her two tired arms for support.

Standing up, she permitted a longer yawn to leave her lips. She then exited the clinic, heading to the Hokage's tower.

It had taken the kunoichi about ten minutes before she greeted the traditionally designed door which led to the office of the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Bearing the whole weight of the files on her left arm, she knocked on the door with her right arm before hearing the approval of a woman's voice beneath.

Sakura entered the office and greeted her shishou, who was currently resting her chin on the surface of her brown wooden desk and her hazel orbs lifelessly staring at her through the slit shapes her eyes had made.

"Good evening, Tsunade-shishou," the pink-haired girl greeted. Tsunade closed her eyes for a moment before opening them back and lifting a single hand to wave at her dryly.

Sakura took the act as her master's way of telling her to get straight to the point. She did understand the situation the fifty year old woman was in. After all, it was the same for her.

"I have finished the assignment just now actually," she reported while placing the stacks of folders on the Hokage's desk by rank before taking a few steps back to her original location.

"That was fast, Sakura. I'm impressed. Thank you for you efforts," the woman said as she sat up straight from her heavenly break and began scanning through the neatly organized files.

"You're welcome, shishou," the pinkette said while bowing in return as an act of respect.

The spheres in Tsunade's caramel colored eyes seemed to be in a cycle of movements from right to left in the seventeen year old kunoichi's perspective as she scanned over the contents of the files, saying, "Do you want a mission?"

"Eh, um, frankly, I'm kind of busy training right now, Tsunade-sama. Would it be okay for me to stay in the village for two weeks straight?" Sakura questioned, careful not to give any hint of impoliteness that could lead to misinterpretation. Her master's question had snapped her from the drowsy state she was in from all the hours of working, specifically about five hours in duration. She really couldn't understand why Naruto desired for the title of Hokage so much. He would need at least three advisers for all the paperwork.

Tsunade caressed the pale golden strands of her right pigtail that was rested on the right side of her chest. Tersely nodding in approval, she said, "Very well. But I thought you wanted a mission to relieve yourself from the boredom?"

"Aa, but there priorities to attend to that are far more important than my social life, shishou."

The Godaime chuckled at her statement. "Are you creating a new jutsu?"

Sakura's dull-looking eyes lit up all of a sudden. There was always a pleasant feeling whenever her master would recognize her ability to enhance the teachings she had passed onto her and her capability to stretch her levels as well.

"I'm going to train right after this, shishou," she said as her eyes gleamed in pride. The blonde noticed this and showed her a genuine smile of pride as well, being proud over her potential to surpass her.

But there was also a hint of concern glinting in her honey eyes that was also shown as her lips curved oppositely.

"At this ungodly hour?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. I'm going to be a whole lot busier from tomorrow on so I'll have to train as soon as possible."

Not a single idea about the possible reasons behind her young subordinate's sudden plans would pop inside the blonde's mind. What was she really up to?

"I'll be taking my leave then, shishou. Good night," Sakura said before bowing and exiting the office, leaving her master being dissatisfied over the levels of curiosity racking up and about inside her brain. She was definitely curious about her intentions.

Tsunade bemused herself between two possible options of what to do at the moment: drinking sake or checking the files. She went with the latter.

She grabbed a random folder from the jounin stack and opened it to reveal medical information regarding a man named Uchiha Shisui. She was about to close it when she noticed the recommendation area was blank and untouched.

Now, why the hell would her responsible and analytic of a kunoichi leave things just like that?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Hello, I'm sorry it took more or less a week for me to update. I actually plan to update the story in batches of chapters so yeah, un. I was actually dead worried about my writing style patterns being discernible huhuhu so I put a lot of effort into these two chapters to distinguish them from the past three. Constructive criticism is really welcomed!**

 **I don't own Naruto and the Uchihas but I hella wish they own me.**

* * *

 _One._

Four long silky strings smoothly flowed through and out of the the small spaces in between the fingers of her right hand, effulgently glowing in a powerful blue saturation. The radiant threads extended from out of her gloved hand to about six meters long, heading for the the thick trunk of the tree that was in front of her.

 _Two._

The silklike threads curved along the way, effectively in balance as they wrapped the tree's trunk in a glowing light, emitting a radiant blue shadow onto the tree's dull and brown barks.

 _Three._

Now strongly tightened around the trunk, a green halo powerfully sparked at her gloved hand, sending off waves of the same color onto the threads that are tied around the tree.

And as the threads turned from blue to green, the tree being strangled slowly transitioned, the rough and sharp edges of its barks shredding off of the surface, skinning the plant in the process. The dull brown layer discolored into a dead hue of gray until the time passed like a breeze and left the tree rotten in an ashen form.

Completely black.

Beads of sweat rolled from her hairline down to the base of her cheeks as her chest rapidly rose in and out. Gasping for a thick amount of air, she closed her other eye in tiredness.

The sky was a painting of a nonliving color, all the light blue streaks washed away by the darkest of colors. And the darkness was lighted by the small glinting stars that were outshone by the yellowish white moon in crescent form.

Over the sky, dark grey clouds lazed in its breezing as did the coolest of winds traveling against her face masked with weariness.

All of a sudden, an ignition of pain seared inside her hand.

Sakura disconnected the green chakra strings from her hand before quickly removing the black glove off. The silklike threads slowly paled in color until they were no longer visible. A short and loud shrill escaped her parted lips, disturbing the silence being enjoyed by the creatures lurking in the forest surrounding Team 7's training grounds.

Sakura inwardly cried a long, long cry of pain. She had been trying and desperately hoping to perfect her jutsu for an hour and a half already. Her technique was inspired by the way puppeteers would control their puppet tools. Similarly, she used chakra strings that were naturally blue in color in order to strain her opponent's body but the main difference was that she uses green poison to travel from her hand to the enemy's system through the glowing strings, entering the victim's system and leaving him two days before fully decaying to death, unless given the chance to be healed but the only antidote to the substance was made and kept by the pinkette.

Where the poison came from? A very good question.

Sakura had gone through intensive trainings on her own in order to adjust her own body to the poisons she had formulated on her own. She had stored deadly green substances inside her system for half a year already now, trying her best to prevent it from deteriorating the tissues and cells in each organ.

And that was happening at the very moment.

After an attempt with her jutsu, the cells that made up the fingers in her right hand reacted to the poison, creating a painful spark inside.

Her parted mouth opened even wider to inhale heavy amounts of oxygen. Silently cursing over the disability to heal herself, what with her very low chakra left, Sakura reached for the medic pouch strapped on her right hip under her pink medic skirt for a single dose of her specialized chakra pills.

Tossing one into her mouth, her sweaty knees heavily dragged her whole body downwards, causing her to lose balance and drop to the ground of brown and leaf green.

She waited, rather, tolerated the pain from the poison for a minimum of six minutes, the duration it took for the chakra pills to take effect. Feeling a stretched potential inside of her to perform more strenuous activities, she used the given energy to cast a glow of green onto her poisoned hand, accelerating the process of cell recovery. After what seemed like a minute, relief met the rough pain inside of her body. Hell, she was not stupid enough to try another attempt for she had concluded that it would take more time for her system to adjust to the poison.

Sakura felt more and more tapped out in every walking minute, forcing her body to trust its weight on the ground. She lied down, resting her arms on both sides, feeling the cold temperature of the grass beneath her back. She had used up most of the newly gained chakra on healing herself. She would have to call it a day. More like a night.

It was already eleven o'clock.

Sakura's eyes delved into the dark night sky in deep contemplation.

She felt lonely.

What was her team doing at the moment? Her sensei was off to Kumogakure to escort the daimyo to Konoha and it would take weeks to get to the village, especially since daimyos were rather traditionally fancy. And annoying. They always preferred seating in carriages being carried by loads of men. Stupid and useless lords.

What were Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai doing at the moment? Were they badly hurt? Should she be there for them? It was not just a medical instinct of hers to always be ready to aid them whenever they were injured or suffering greatly. It was more like a feeling of genuine love for her teammates.

Love...

Sakura trapped an intense gaze on the radiantly gleaming stars.

Her violently erupting sea of thoughts were calmed and stilled as an image of the back of a raven-haired man showed up inside her mind.

Across her weary and beaten face, a grin was sketched as she mentally heard familiar voices. She hid a loose lock of pink hair behind her left ear, listening to the infamous "hn"s and "tch"s being sang by the being from inside of her head.

The lips on her face curved oppositely as her eyes followed the path of the gloomy clouds, obscuring the light of the crescent moon.

All of a sudden, the image of another Uchiha and an extremely annoying one of that hacked into her secluded thoughts.

Inner Sakura _mentally_ rolled her eyes as the past happenings of the day were being played. She remembered the priceless look on the Uchiha's face when she had told him that he would also have to abide by her own condition, which was to give her the freedom to decide the date of the date.

Sakura smiled at the thought.

She was being mean and unfair to him but then again, so was he to her. It was just a matter of mutual respect. Shisui was hell too loud for her taste, too annoying for what she could take, but then again, too puzzling for her bright mind. He could see things that she couldn't. He knew things that she didn't. But then again, Sakura was not the type of person to lose to any challenge presented, especially if she hadn't even started fighting for her own side. She was willing to give him a hard time in knowing _her._

While Sakura was sure Shisui held no romantic feelings towards her whatsoever, she just about had no single idea as to why he wanted a date.

Was it to know her perhaps? But then again, what was there to know about? Sakura knew that she had nothing interesting to show. Her clan didn't have any special techniques or doujutsu. Actually, they were just a regular family with potential.

Sakura wasn't interesting. Now, why the hell would he want to know more about her?

What would giving him a hard time to know about her bring if there was nothing interesting to know about her?

The bubble-gum haired shinobi displayed a frown. While she wasn't really an intriguing mystery, on the other hand, the Uchiha was the complete opposite. He hid a lot of things from people, what with his ability to do so.

He hid the fact that he was slowly becoming visually impaired.

Why doesn't he tell anyone? Or did he actually share such to anyone without her knowing? Maybe he told Itachi? Or Itachi knew without being told? What is going to happen to him? Why isn't he doing anything about it? Or did he actually do something about it without her knowing?

What is Sakura going to do?

Her pair of eyes grew in width as a slash of lightning strongly sparked in the middle of the peaceful night sky followed by the booming sound of the thunder.

Much to her surprise, the lights from the tall buildings still visible from her location had died, darkening the whole area that was already darkened by the night.

 _Blackout in the village?_

She sat up from the grass, deepening the frown that was already present on her face. Her eyes smoothly glided over the sight of the lightless buildings that reached for the dim heavens. Everything around her was as black as pitch, heck, it was almost impossible to not see her surroundings if it weren't for the miniature flashlight that she had fished out from her tool kit.

She didn't approve of the idea of being alone in the darkness. It rose the hairs on the surface of her skin and sent a freezing cold chill to snake its way down through her spinal cord. And that was understating the horrible feeling.

After a long and grueling day, Sakura was determined that the time had come for her to go to her apartment, lay on her fluffy single bed, and put herself into the deepest of slumbers for all eternity. Her chakra levels were reaching the core of the Earth at this very hour and the only activity left that her body could tolerate was walking to her home. Mentally cursing for exhausting herself over stressful activities like paperwork and training, her sandaled feet automatically began to saunter in the path to her very much deserved sleep.

The rays of light emitted by the tool she was holding onto, and quite frankly, desperately depending on, were flickering on and off for a short moment.

She was still in the middle of the forest, surrounded by the tallest of trees, and she felt as if there was something watching her. She had always been fixed on the little belief she had instilled within her back when she was a little girl, the belief that trees were like silent, watching creatures.

The flashlight did it again. All the sudden transitions between light and darkness reminded her of a certain twenty-year old man.

Shisui was just like the flickering light.

With his Body Flicker Technique, Sakura couldn't help but muse over the interesting analogy she had just thought of. There was more to that, though.

It also represented how the Uchiha would be an easygoing loudmouth at first, then become the serious and cool (although she would never admit it) man over the next minute.

Reaching the main street of the Hidden Village of Leaves, she noticed that the flashlight was now dead before stuffing it back inside her tool kit. Then a memory was blown into her circulating thoughts. She remembered that Naruto had overused it the last time their team had attempted another "Operation See What Kakashi-sensei Looks Like Under His Stupid Mask." _That baka_ , she inwardly sighed.

Now that the tool could no longer be depended on for its purpose, the kunoichi continued to walk on the path to her apartment complex. She couldn't see a thing. The dim silhouettes of the tall and short buildings of which Konoha was made up of were what her functioning eyes could only capture.

All of a sudden, a realization hit her like a lightning bolt.

Her two lazing feet instantly stopped in its tracks, deepening the shallow hole from the footprints being stepped on, and did a complete three hundred and sixty degree turn, turning her whole body to the opposite direction. Her lifeless legs started to walk, as if there were propellers churning actively to make her move faster by the minute.

Time seemed to crawl as she ran and ran to wherever her sandaled feet were taking her. It was as if her feet were controlling her whole body and mind, not the other way around. Nonetheless, it was not against her will.

The dead sky was brought to life by the blinding strikes of lightning, simultaneously flashing. As the pinkette ran and ran and ran, she reminded her ears for what was expected to come: a loud bang of thunder.

Sakura ran through the dark streets of Konoha, passing by the confused looks present on the faces of the villagers. She hadn't guessed that there were still a number of people were out especially since it was close to midnight. Maybe it was because of the sudden blackout. After all, it had been about two years since the last.

 _Why is there no rain?_

Rainy occurrences were unusual in the village of Konoha, how much more unusual was it for thunderstorms? Maybe it was a village attack? Maybe that was why Tsunade had been so busy? Maybe that was also the reason as to why her shishou had asked her if she wanted a mission? Although not impossible, the security system of the village had been enhanced to the maximum due to past village attacks like the appearance of the nine-tailed demon fox and the assassination of the Sandaime Hokage.

Her pregnant thoughts came to a full stop as soon as she had reached the front of the tall black gates.

Sakura had arrived at the Uchiha compound.

Hesitation crept up from her rising chest to her impassive eyes. Even in their own district, there were still several people out of their houses, probably with the same thoughts and intentions as the number of villagers she had passed by earlier, wondering about the cause behind the sudden blackout.

She landed a step beyond the entrance line.

It took the wandering kunoichi ten minutes before she had finally gained and owned the heavy audacity weighing down her whole will and body. She allowed her eyelids to cover her weary eyes that were the main ink of the word "weariness" written on her face. Occasionally, her left knee would wobble, challenging the balance of her body. Exhaling a small amount of air, she opened her eyes and readied herself.

She was standing now in front of Uchiha Shisui's house.

The ten minutes that it took for her to reach his own home had been used for asking several wandering elders the directions to his house, running with determination, and stopping with hesitation.

 _Goddamned medic morals._

She was here to confirm her suspicion. No, it couldn't be classified as a mere suspicion. It was a hypothesis that produced sense and contained very high chances of being turned into a reality, a brutal one. Shisui was turning blind, the main reason as to why he had quitted from the ANBU. After all, the pieces to the bizarre puzzle did fit together. But what Sakura couldn't also have mistaken for was the fact that if he was in the process of becoming visually impaired, then his eyesight was supposed to be getting worse, which means that since it was an inherited doujutsu, the times that his vision would be dimming or blurrying would although be irregular but... unpredicted.

In the blackout currently occurring in the powerful village, it was highly possible for his eyesight to lack the ability to adjust to the sudden darkness of the surroundings, making him experience difficulty in seeing.

 _He's a former ANBU and even an Uchiha. Of course, he can use his other senses_ , Inner Sakura lectured her. But then again, the activeness in coming to helpless people's aids was a trait that her shishou had instilled within her when she was training under her to learn medical ninjutsu.

 _Hell, she really had them goddamned medic morals._

Sakura roamed outside the two-story house, using her analytical ability to sense any living signatures. Much to her dismay, there was none. It was nearly midnight, where was that loudmouthed idiot? What could be the possible activities that he would be doing at this ungodly hour of the night? His eyesight was getting worse, he should have known that, right? He should be aware of the consequences of roaming around the streets of Konoha during a blackout! He would be a total jerk if he made her go all out of her way to his house and just not show up (although it was her decision without his knowledge). Silently, she preferred that he would just suddenly show up behind her using his teleportation techniques.

"Sakura?"

And the hell he did.

Once again, her body awkwardly jerked at the sound of his voice that had popped out of nowhere. With two circling eyes increasing in diameter, her pair of lips repelled from each other in such a way Naruto would if Sai would creepily rest an arm around him due to misguidances from emotion and relationship centered books.

Turning around to his direction, she altered her expression from surprise to exasperation. Lifting her right arm to tightly squeeze her blessed fists, she exclaimed, "Where the hell did you come from?!"

Shisui slit his eyes at her in mild annoyance from being greeted with a yell in an instant but his expression was quickly surfaced by curiosity. And by curiosity, he was itching, rather, _dying_ to know why the girl who seemed like it was a habit of hers to be severely aching at his presence would appear outside his house (although he was sure that she had just recently known about his address) in the literal middle of the night.

"Never mind that. What are you doing here?" Using his left hand, Shisui ran through his ebony hair, disheveling it in the process.

Sakura couldn't help but lock her thoughts on his small act. He had run his hand through his hair before and he had done it again right now. She wasn't entirely certain if it was a mannerism of his but then again, that wasn't the problem. Inner Sakura was pulling out the blood from ears to tell him how he looked so damn sexy with his sable hair pushed back.

Ripping the thought from her occupied thinking room and inwardly welcoming the building panic, she came to realize the situation that was exhibited before her sense of judgment. The twenty-one year old prodigy had just magnetized her attention to his simple question regarding her purpose for visiting him in the middle of the night.

And it wasn't hard for her, it really wasn't. Kami just didn't love to place the pink-haired shogi piece in positions that would make it suffer from the absence of comfort.

At the rather conspicuous image of the shadowed man being darkened along with the terrorizing shadows had her sense of sight mused over. It was hardly possible for her to see his eyes, for his eyes were the same as the shadows blending in the ground, in terms of color, that is. The only thing she could quite catch up with is the metal protector covering his forehead, being emphasized by the small glint of light on the leaf symbol carved onto it.

Then it struck her, he was still in his daily shinobi attire at this late of the night?

All the questions regarding his activities and whereabouts were bubbling on the boiling surface. It was killing her to refrain herself from permitting the questions from leaving her mouth and hand him a very much earned lecture after doing so.

As time seemed to snore, Shisui eyed her expectantly and mentally conducting experiments that tested his curiosity to whether a puzzle piece would fit to where it was being placed, searching through her puzzled display of emotions for at least a single clue but Sakura showed nothing but the nervousness building up inside of her from the rapid movements of her green orbs.

It was never her intention to let him enjoy the sight of her true intentions, her ultimate purpose. That option would be the same as bringing back her childishness when she was still a genin who would pass out from seeing a beaten _Sasuke-kun_ even though awareness of such a case's origin could be justified by Sakura herself.

And that was it, conclusion stated that her bright of a mind had its own limits.

"It's kinda late. I'm going home," she replied as she slightly lowered her head and directed her body to the right side.

As quick as a flash, a warm hand grasped her left wrist.

"Sakura," Shisui spoke through the dead silence as his face transitioned into a different expression. Nothing was proved excluding the sincerity by his half-opened eyes and his lips looked like it was parted already in case she still had not any intention to answer.

Determination enlightened Sakura enough to voluntarily face him. She was _not_ going to let him know. She was up to his challenge and there she was, fighting for a small victory, as trivial as it may seem.

"Why are you here?"

The blackness in his eyes blended along with the lurking shadows around their bodies. A high wave of onyx danced around his eyes that were as dead as the night sky hovering over their heads.

Desperately in search for her awaited words were his opening orbs, offering an intent gaze of which its sole purpose was to be concentrated at her rested lips with an intense level of desire, so badly, so _strongly_ wanting to know why the hell she had come now to the man who was always chasing her.

At that moment, the only sound that could be heard was the wind's sighs and snores.

That was until the sound of the pitter and patter of rain came.

Which was followed by the sound of heavy rain crashing.

Which was followed by the sound of raging thunders in the sky.

The night sky's cries came slithering down her face in tiny beads, forcing her skin to absorb the coldness. Pink tresses had been watered down into a darker shade, emphasizing the redness of the ends of her short hair. Her lips separated to let out the light sound of shivering. Her green eyes, dulled by the surrounding darkness, laid on the only source of warmth of her body, Shisui's hand.

Shisui's lifeless yet serious expression had been washed away by the drops of rain flowing through his face from the wet strands of black hair sticking to his temples and eyes. His usual high-collared black top shrouded his body like it was his second skin, accentuating his formed shoulders and chest.

His dark eyebrows were knitted together, curving in frustration. His eyes were widening and his lips were parted again as if he had a lot of things to say to her, to make her know. The surfacing emotion on his face was now genuine concern which caused Sakura's wheel of thoughts to churn. It left her helplessly not knowing what to feel and how to react.

"Stay for a bit until the rain stops. Don't worry, I live alone," he spoke, letting go of her wrist.

The other party wasn't so certain about feeling at ease at the fact that she was going to stay in his house. The two of them together, _alone_.

He immediately acted, seizing out the keys to his porchless house from the pocket of his black pants and inserted one through the keyhole on the door.

Lifting both of her arms, Sakura opened her mouth for a moment to collect the right words in response before she managed to reply to him, "Ah, I'll be fine in my home. No need for that, thanks."

"Your apartment is at the other end of the village," he protested as he opened the door for her.

He was right and she knew that it was too inconvenient on her part to travel to her apartment complex through such a heavy rain. After a day of poisoning herself, working like a damned Hokage, and running to the Uchiha's house like some kind of idiot, her chakra levels were extremely low while her stress levels were extremely high. It didn't help that the whole village was going through a rare blackout either.

She moved her face to the left direction and then to the right before turning to him. "Can I just borrow an umbrella then?"

Despite the fact that the door to his house had already been opened, Shisui was still standing outside, looking at her expectantly. Before he could respond to her question, Sakura's eyelids grew heavier by the passing second until her eyes were lifelessly shut down as her knees twisted against each other unsteadily.

Sakura had blacked out.

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 **Please favorite and follow if you genuinely like it. Reviews will be very much appreciated as well as constructive criticism. Any comments about my writing? It would really help :) My Sakura Instagram account is :) I follow back by the way!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I hope you like this chapter as much as I did hehehe. Omo ottoke! I hope that after reading this, you don't feel like their relationship is being rushed. Nope, there's still a long, long way to go before the uh... S-word hehehe.**

 **If you think I don't own Naruto, then I probably don't. But if you think Naruto can own me, then he probably can't. I can be devoured by Kurama or something.**

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All that could be heard was the rustling of the leaves, scampering along with the light mass of dust, away from the ground that was shaded with three dark shadows, one of which belonged to a vessel that captured a massive ball of red, vibrating in eagerness to explode in each passing second.

And that massive ball of red was the evil hatred rooted deep inside the skin of a certain black-haired man, whose face was hidden by the orange mask of spiraling lines, covering it except the blood red eye that was piercing through Sakura's symbol of her current state.

"Interfere with our business with the Kyuubi and your teammates will be greeted by their own deaths," a severely cold voice spoke from beneath the brightly colored mask, as the grip encircling Sakura's neck was tightened by the bloodstained fingers of the man.

The circles under her eyes were blackened and swollen by the salty waters that had already dried, surrounding the jade green orbs that were reached out by the red rootlike lines on the white parts. Her knees shook as beads of sweat skated down the entire skin that was covering her lifeless yet trembling body. A series of shrills flowed out of her bleeding lips, interrupted by the loss of air at almost every second.

Her body was lifted a meter high from the forest floor by the masked man who was wrapping one gloved hand around her neck that was slowly turning from red to a dark shade of violet.

Behind him lied the beaten up Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki who had lost his consciousness from the man's attempt to weaken the strange-looking seal on his stomach.

The coil paths inside her were no longer transmitting chakra from the powerhouse that captured her stamina but enough energy remained for her to inwardly battle between blacking out and draining herself by attempting to fight the Akatsuki member.

With every ounce of her silently yet insanely burning willpower, she used her left hand to desperately remove his hands from her neck to be able to breathe while the right fist weakly passed through the masked man's unsolid face, using the predicted blow as a diversion in order to extend chakra strings from her right hand and attach them to Naruto's corpselike body, banging his head against the ground in order to wake him up.

The man in black and red cursed her in a curt manner, grabbed her short locks of pink hair, and smashed her head against a low boulder on the ground.

A week after she had felt the vibrating pain, Sakura woke up in a hospital bed, attempting to slightly move her body to end up with emitting a pained groan. Using a tiny amount of chakra, she diagnosed her current condition in just a matter of seconds, frowning afterwards at the fact that the cells around her neck were damaged and that there was a dangerous fracture at the back of her skull. But she knew that she was recovering and that saved her from the despair brought by the thoughts of failing the mission because of her head bang. She had some questions in mind, demanding to be answered and silenced. Oh, she would look for her teammates, all right. It became her decision then to heal herself completely right after her mind found its light of peace.

Sakura positioned her hand on the area where the injected needle was attached, in an attempt to smoothly remove the sharp object from the dot-sized hole on her fair white skin.

All of a sudden, an oddly warm hand found itself on her injected one, stopping her from disconnecting the object from her messed up system.

"Don't. The Godaime ordered me to watch you and make sure you don't do anything stupid," the deep voice exited from the lips of a certain black-haired man with obsidian eyes.

Sasuke.

Sakura felt an intensely screaming desire to tell him that she contained more than enough capacity within her currently hospitalized body to heal herself but decided against it and pressed on a more important issue.

"Where's Naruto?!"

For a fraction of a second, a flash of annoyance passed by his infamous display area of emotions, which she failed to notice. The seventeen year old heir's facial expression transformed into a thick, thick, thick mask of indifference.

Sasuke spoke, removing the weight of his hand from her own, "Naruto was discharged from here just yesterday. The Akatsuki members present at that time had escaped. Three were defeated, namely, Deidara, Kakuzu and Hidan."

A breath of relief escaped out of the kunoichi's lips as her half-lidded eyes fully closed.

"How did I get here?" she questioned him out of curiosity. It was undeniable to her that no one could have helped her knocked out self at that time except for an already beaten up Naruto.

Sasuke's line of sight ghosted to one corner on the ceiling as he responded to her question in a neutral tone, "An ANBU member carried you back to the village. He said that your life was in danger and so the Godaime immediately took notice."

Sakura wasn't sure what to say to him in response. Well, currently in her case of being an absent-minded girl with questions being screamed beneath her large forehead, she wasn't sure what to _ask_ of him in response. Was she to ask him the name of this ANBU member? Was she to voice out further contemplations regarding her shishou's actions? As trivial as it may seem, her life was marked on that line. Sure, a thin film of gratitude acted as her second skin but the piece of information was insignificant, wasn't is?

"That member was ordered by their squad captain, Uchiha Shisui."

 _Uchiha Shisui?_

Sakura woke up.

This time, her dulled eyes didn't flutteringly open to the hospital room that smelled pleasantly of the familiar scent of disinfectant, oddly enough, of which she had "resided" in four months ago.

Her eyes that were weakened by the weighted sense of weariness continuously blinked for about ten seconds, occasionally winking due to the odd imbalance that she was also bearing at the moment. For whatever reason, she knew nothing.

The soft feeling from the touch of the sheets from unknowingly playing with her sides using her fingers pushed a big red button inside of her head, the big red button of "dawning back to one's senses."

Lurking inside of her mind full of barking noises was a statement ending with a question mark that continued to tickle every corner around her brain. _Where the hell am I?_

And the said big red button was pushed even harder.

Sakura was in someone else's room, lying in someone else's bed.

Leaf green was Konoha's signature color to capture the peaceful rustling of leaves, hence its name.

But at the moment, the leaf green in her eyes were stained, symbolizing a killing emotion of shock at the extremely unbelievable realization as her once weakened body sat right up on the bed through a sudden jerk.

And another question was being screamed out loud by the kunoichi inside her brain: _What the hell happened?_

Resting her wide forehead on her right palm, she tightly shut her eyelids down, unknowingly slanting her eyebrows in the process. A groan of frustration was followed by the little act of ensuring that a loose lock of pink strands was tucked beneath her left ear.

There was rain, she remembered. The fact that her body was extremely sore and tired at the moment meant that she had excessively overworked herself in the previous day. And the fact that she still felt completely drained even after several hours of sleeping drew a frown of irritation on her face. The poison incident from the attempt of her new technique had greatly slowed down the recovery of her chakra levels. Currently, she was not far from containing zero energy.

An icy feeling shrouded the skin that was wrapping her whole body, pulling the tip of every hair upwards. Her clothes that were wetted from the pouring rain had stuck onto her skin, causing her to feel cold.

An exploration was sailed by her two eyes to the details she had first grasped around her. The room was a bit too spacious for one person but it gave comfort from the extended personal space. The floor was modernized with a dark shade of wood. The wall was painted a simple white, which complemented to the dark brown storage cabinet in front of the white-sheeted bed. There was a window on the wall to the right of her, covered by a nude colored curtain. All her muted ideas of the room narrowed down into one conclusion: the owner was a neat and organized person.

Wide eyes grew even wider as another realization dawned on her. Clearly, her poison had invaded even the core of her brain. Not only had her shinobi senses dulled, it had affected her common sense, too! She was going to heal herself later, all right. _Damn ungifted stamina._

Alas, her common sense told her one thing.

She was in Shisui's room.

She had slept in Shisui's bed.

She was vulnerable in Shisui's home.

Of course, she was vulnerable! Her body condition and IQ problem were the most important of all proofs. Nevertheless, Inner Sakura had rubbed two rocks against each other and gave birth to an even more intense fire, a blazing offspring called her will. (No, it's not the Will of Fire).

It was not listed down in her plans to be taken advantage of. But then again, she wasn't planning to make herself look stupid in front of the Uchiha for shamelessly assuming that he would advance onto her. She could imagine him telling irritating things to her like _"Who the hell do you think you are? Someone who can easily just claim the reward of pleasure from this oh-so-sexy Uchiha?"_

Her lips parted slightly to allow a light sound of shivering flow put of her mouth. It was then that she noticed that her usual ninja clothes were slightly wet from the rain that had poured itself onto her body the night before. The surroundings magnetized her line of sight until her stare was laid on the window that was being covered by the curtain, leading her wandering mind to the conclusion that it was still about 3 AM in the morning and that the pitter and patter of the heavy rain still had not come to an end.

After registering the fulfilling thought, her gaze flew across the bed and onto the slightly opened door. Beneath the door were chairs and walls that she couldn't quite make out. Darkness was filling the space, making her thoughts of realization transition into questions that were begging her sense of curiosity to be answered. She sighed, thinking, is _the blackout still occurring or are the lights just turned off?_

As another breath from the coldness that was wrapping her body escaped her mouth, Sakura's yet unsatisfied eyes that were dulled by the absence of light smoothly slid over the bed and much to her surprise, there was a set of folded clothes lying on the edge, carrying the obvious fact that it was arranged and prepared for her to wear.

It was arranged and prepared for her by Shisui.

An alien feeling dug deeply through her chest, taking control of an army of the feeling's roots invading her body, encircling its invisible arms around her, and blowing off warmth that seemed to infect her cold skin. It grew and grew and _grew_ inside of her, causing different kinds of emotions to assault her all at once. These various emotions blended altogether into one common effect: it tugged the corners of her lips upwardly.

Her hand extended towards the clothes after she had undressed herself from the wet and sticky set of fabrics that she had tolerated for several hours. There was no amount of hesitation that crept up to her chest, even after the realization of the kind of clothes she had worn dawned onto her senses.

A navy blue top with a high collar, with the red and white fan emblem of the Uchiha clan being carved on the back hid the bare form of her upper half. The shirt which seemed to belong to Shisui's chuunin days (or rather ANBU days since Sakura heard that he had become an ANBU captain around sixteen years old) was paired with a pair of light cream colored shorts that fitted her waist and bottom just right.

She slid over the soft crumpled sheets of white until the moment her feet had been planted on the wooden floor. A strike of pain spread around her back and legs from the forced act of getting out of the bed she had slept on. Quick and sharp breaths floated out of her pale red lips as one eye was shut, carrying the whole weight of the pain.

Being severely disturbed were both her mind and body. Her mind was drowned in its own black sea of thoughts and questions as if a heavy storm had breezed over it again and again. All the screams and cries inside of her brain rhymed with one question: _Where the hell is Shisui?_

Albeit the ignition of a flamelike feeling had sparked throughout her entire body, Sakura had warred against her own instincts and ended up with the decision to search for the man in question. A silent trudge to the parts of the house was all it would take for her to look for the Uchiha, grab him by the collar, and plant her chakra-and-irritation-combo-ladened fists on his face for making her look stupid for thinking that he would sexually advance on her.

As the shadows being displayed on the floor by the windows around the living room were being stepped over, a tiny yet sudden movement of an oblong shaped creature on the shadowed floor sent a tsunami wave over her snoring senses.

Wide circles replaced her weary eyes as did a largely opened mouth replace her unmoving lips. A sharp shriek echoed through air that was once quiet and undisturbed.

 _Cockroach!_

As female instincts had guided her to dash away from the creature a thousand times smaller than her size, her left foot attempted a sudden twist, causing the balance of her body to be questionable.

And at that shining (despite the shadows) moment, Sakura's face was greeted by the cold and hard floor.

An imaginary flock of birds flew in circles above her head as her rolling eyes were fixed back in place. The blurry sight dizzied her head until the two images of the scenario being watched by her eyes were merging into one whole clear picture: the shadows of the dripping raindrops from the glass window. Inner Sakura strangled her own self at the realization that the "cockroach" was actually the shadow of a single raindrop.

Well, it seemed like the deadly substance had attacked her female instincts as well. How useful could her jutsu get? She wasn't planning to leave such a dangerous technique as a double-edged sword.

The sound of stepping reverberated across the living room, each single step being the adding embarrassment slash the amount of will to live she had lost.

Tilting her head upwardly to fix her view on the expected greeter, her sight adjusted through the curtain-like strands of pink hair that fell on her eyes, meeting the face that contained dead eyes glinting in mischief and upper teeth being dug into the bottom lip. Once the sound of footsteps halted to an end, the sound of chuckling followed.

Through the loose locks caught up in her mouth, Sakura managed to murmur out, "You're lucky I can't punch you as hard as I usually can."

Through the corner of her eye, the desperation to make out his reaction made it possible to do so. Silence fell as a small frown was stained on his face that was tattooed by the shadows from the windows.

Could he have known that she was still not in the best condition from what she had just said?

Before her left elbow could ascend her whole weight from the floor, in a sharp, sharp, sharp flash had her delicate body weighed down on two arms and stuck heavily against something hard, something _warm_.

A high-pitched cry was let loose from out of Sakura's mouth as she realized that her weak body was situated within Shisui's arms, carrying her in bridal style after using his flicker technique.

An ice cold chill slithered through every pore on her body, rising every hair it passed by as his fingers dug shallowly onto the skin wrapping around the joint connecting her thigh and calf on one leg.

She tilted her head to look up at him, half-expecting to meet his gaze. The expectation had drowned and the new word that evaporated onto her face was... intrigue. Shisui's eyes that were bearing the same color as the shadows sleeping on the floor were set on somewhere else, someplace ahead. It was a mystery being presented to the Haruno and it was a challenge she wanted to solve, not out of pride but rather out of interest.

What the hell was she thinking just now?

"Put me down!" she ordered as his chest was blessed with a smack. His intense gaze drove off of whatever sight he was focusing at to her green eyes that were voicing her weariness and irritation.

"No," he tersely spoke, his deep voice forcing a chill through her spine, making her feel somewhat intimidated, almost as if it made sense to her to just agree with him and be carried around like a little girl.

At that moment, Sakura felt like an idiot for thinking so.

"Oi, put me down! Shannaro!" she voiced the screams that belonged to Inner Sakura's loud of a mouth.

Momentarily, a glint found its way shining in his dead eyes after her infamous catchphrase had left her lips, to which she had regrettably done so. "Is this too _early_ for you?"

For a whole second, her ears tried to push the single sentence into her brain that was unable to simply register the simple words. That was, until her stare directed to the place where they were heading, a room with a slightly opened door. A fraction of a second passed by like a breeze and at that very moment, blood circulated through her cheeks, now tinged with a bit of red.

Shisui wouldn't, would he?

The two had already entered into his bedroom. Well, for Sakura's case, she was forced to be brought there by an Uchiha wo was obsessed with the idea of carrying her like she was both his wife and daughter.

"Teme, I said put me down!" the burning fire inside her eyes didn't feel like wilting as she fluttered her legs alternately out of his grip but failed to do so as the man tightened his grip around her even more.

"Make me."

Sakura took it as a challenge. Her free hand wrapped itself around the thumb of his hand that was used to support her legs. "I'll crush your thumb. I'm not kidding, Shisui," she growled at him in the deepest voice she could muster, mad eyes uncovering the once hidden flames blazing fiercely against the darkness surrounding them.

Recognizing her intentions, the twenty-one year old man dropped her in an instant on the bed of crumpled sheets.

Wrong move.

After all, an inhumanely strong and annoyingly impatient kunoichi with pink hair should always be taken seriously in the first place.

At the moment Shisui dropped Sakura on the bed, she had focused little of her remaining chakra on his thumb by wrapping her fingers around it, causing her to bring him along on the sheets.

Forcing their bodies into a highly, extremely, severely odd position.

Silence crept into the rough situation that Kami had presented to them as Sakura tightly blinked away the heavy feeling that was weighing on her.

Literally weighing on her.

She opened her eyes to register their positions, doubling the diameter as she had felt a mass sitting on top of her chest. It was then that realization struck her: Shisui's face had landed on her breasts.

Time seemed to laze in its passing as panic rose up to her chest, desperately trying to move along with the act of her heaving lungs but was strained by the face pressed against it.

Awkwardly enough, her wide eyes shifted to the ceiling as a silent groan escaped the Uchiha's lips, causing a vibration on her chest. Right after that, Shisui had registered the situation literally facing before him and in an instant, he flashed away from her body and to the other side of the bed, lying and positioned sideways with his back facing her, hiding Kami-knows-what kind of emotion creeping up on his face from her.

Sakura's cheeks were stained with the blood circulating beneath her rosy skin, her pale face being colored into the same color of her bright hair. Not a single word could be fished out from inside of her mind, let alone from her lips. She simply didn't know what to say. And that wasn't something one could classify as simple. Uncertainty clasped her chest as she grasped the natural thought of sending the man a chakra-infused blow for sexually harassing her, accident or not, but then again, it would not have been possible if it had not been for her thinning patience. But her mind was screaming with alien words at the moment for her surprise to be easily replaced by anger.

As she lied on the side opposite to him with her eyes glued to the ceiling, she deeply pondered the correct words to say to him about the situation she had just caused while trying at the same time to not make the situation any more awkward than it already was. Alert sparked within her as the sound of sheets being ruffled entered her ears, realizing then that Shisui had shifted from his position to get off of the bed.

"Wait."

The Uchiha, with the red and white emblem facing her direction, tilted his head in order to watch her silently through the corner of his eye.

Silence was etched on the air between their still bodies. Sakura knew that she had to say something to him, _something_. She didn't favor the idea of him just leaving, guiltily bearing the thought that she was uncomfortable of what had just happened. Technically, she was but she had to at least relieve him from those kinds of thoughts. Well, what the hell was she going to say? _"Hey, Uchiha. I take responsibility for giving you the opportunity to feel my breasts."_

She inhaled. "Sorry, it was my fault."

Showing to him that she was mature was an important act to follow. It would kill her to be haunted by her past years of being the useless and close-minded genin who only knew the word "Sasuke-kun." She didn't want to be looked down on. She wanted to be... _looked at_. Same level, same treatment.

"Aa."

A pang of an unfamiliar feeling groped her insides tightly and it hurt her, lightly or not, it hurt her still. The only part of him that was facing her was his back and the only thing that kept him from meeting his eyes was the only thing Sakura couldn't quite figure out.

What could be worse than being looked down on?

Not being looked at all.

Why couldn't his eyes just pass by her own? Why wouldn't he allow his obsidian eyes to lock onto her smaragd ones? It didn't seem like it but she was looking at him with an immensely burning desire, to...

to look after him.

Being blinded by the beauty and wonders of the world was just too _sad_. Lacking the ability to see things, to _look_ at things, at people - everything about being blind was just too unlivable. The possibilities of turning that idea into a brutal reality constructed every pinch of fear welling up inside of her.

Every question that was scratching the walls of her mind evaporated to the surface as she heard the sound of the sheets being ruffled again, knowing fully well that he was attempting to get off of the bed.

"Wait, I have something to ask," she softly spoke.

Shisui was hiding and Sakura knew. He wasn't aware of her recent knowledge and she wasn't planning to let him know. An extremely tough task it was, one could suggest. After all, his charcoal eyes could see through the film of transparency being worn by every being he would meet. But it was one puzzle that had not been presented to him of which she was willing to raise its difficulty in case he would try to solve it.

He said to her questioningly, "What is it?" He was still lying sideways, facing outward and away from her while she was lying on her back, as if she was musing over the little details marked on the ceiling.

Nervousness rose through her chest and silence ghosted by the both of them. What was she going to reply? She couldn't just ask him for confirmation about his condition. She couldn't show her intentions to him. And just why?

What was she going to say to him in response without worsening the situation and giving away whatever thought she had hidden in the deepest parts of her brain?

Really now, what the hell was she going to say?

"Sakura."

Shisui voiced out her name as he lied sideways to finally, _finally_ face her direction. Dead eyes pierced through the corners of her eyes that were still glued to the view atop the two of them. There were loads of words that could give away her inner panicking but frustration tightly zipped up her lips, though ironically it was left parted.

"Sakura," he called her again.

Then there came that familiar, oddly familiar, sensation tingling through her spine.

And panic was shot down by the new warming feeling: curiosity.

Emerald eyes delving far into the plain and mostly empty ceiling, a question was fished out from her cleared mind, "Why don't you call me Sakura-chan anymore?"

Without even adjusting her position to turn to him expectantly for his response, Sakura remained staring at the ceiling as if it was the being she had just recently questioned. Quietness gave birth to even more quietness and she wasn't doubtless if he actually intended to answer to the needs of her never-satisfied curiosity. After all, it was something so trivial.

A muted breath of relief escaped her lips as he answered in an impassive tone, "You didn't like it, right?"

Dubious as she was to the decision of what to feel about being called like she was some child, it did irritate her in such a sense but then again, she didn't dislike it. What was she supposed to feel anyway?

Smoothly had she turned her neck to face him finally. Both of them were lying on their backs but their faces were directed towards each other's direction. Surprisingly, his closeness to her space didn't place any mass of burden nor any kind of tension inside of her but rather, she felt some kind of comfort.

Blinking and opening her eyes, she said, "Then why did you call me that in the first place?"

A light chuckle came from his direction, warming her cold blood from the need for relief. And for the very first time, he showed her a new and different side to him, something she had not even witnessed at least once.

Shisui's once dead eyes were almost closed as he laughed from whatever seemed humorous to him.

A muted gasp escaped Sakura's parted lips as she silently enjoyed the rare view before her.

That was when his eyes opened to lay back at her. "I thought I was being unique among the others."

Shisui's light chuckle entered her ears again and this time, Sakura found herself being drawn to his warmth the way a moth would to a lit candle as she started gently singing a laugh along with the Uchiha.

An image of bright colors of yellow and orange flashed inside the mind of the pink-haired kunoichi and along with it came an irritating recording that played itself on repeat, never stopping to vex her own brain's ears. _Sakura-chaaan! Sakura-cheyaaan! Dattebayo!_

She closed her eyes and told him in a teasing manner, "Sad to say, you weren't."

As her lids took over her eyes with pride over her triumph, silence swept them off at the moment, to which she allowed her eyelids to roll up and look at his reaction.

Shisui's eyes were fixed on the sheet in front of him, widening at first and then narrowing in what seemed like disdain. Annoyance was masked all over his face and he wasn't hiding it very well. Inwardly, a chortle echoed through her and hovered over the wheel of thoughts that were churning rapidly in amusement as she giggled at his childishness.

Reposing herself although her lips hinted the undeniable urge to break out a laugh, new questions had propelled her inner churning wheel.

"Why did you stop?" she asked him.

He lowered his gaze as if he was stroke by a specific memory. "It's just like what I said, you didn't like it."

"Good thing you realized."

He nibbled on his bottom lip and disarrayed his already messy hair by running his hand through it. After that, he pierced a dead serious stare through her eyes that were gleaming a new shade of green, saying, "You like being called just by your name, right?"

A strong feeling of wonder, of _awe_ , entrapped her exhibit of emotions as she gaped at him with wide glassy eyes that fastened onto the sight of _him_ , onto his intense orbs of charcoal black, his disheveled hair that had the same color as the midnight, and his annoyingly beautiful eyelashes that slanted at the edge of his eyes.

Bursting out of nowhere was a heavily weighing urge to do a certain thing which had pushed the pinkette to ask him a rather odd question.

"Can I touch your hair?"

A shine of a bright emotion flashed by Shisui's steely eyes after the woman had just proved to him that she could voice out her buried thoughts even if it meant taking the spotlight of audacity and well, in the most decent say, uniqueness.

A grin played on his lips as he asked, "What would you benefit from touching my hair?"

Once again, it was a challenge that drew her sense of pride in the hopes of mystifying her until she proved that she was a failure. Come Kami or the Akatsuki, she was willing to prove her self-worth, even if it was in the field of flirting.

"Satisfaction," said the kunoichi as she elevated her chin to eye him down.

Flashed by the stilled eyes of his was the same glint of a bright emotion, although the other party couldn't quite figure out its identity. Smirkingly and quite evilly had the prodigy said in response, "Now, what would I get?"

A blur of silently erupting thoughts was the sole image of her whole mind. It was all a blur and she didn't mind about clearing it to dawn on her dulled senses. "Anything, I guess," she spoke through a thin mask of indifference.

Fastened to his dark and beautifully lengthened eyelashes were the unthinking eyes of the girl who was tempted to reach out for his head. Shisui told the girl whose only focus was directed to his eyes, "I also get to touch your hair."

That being said alone was the permission she had sought out in order to fulfill her momentary wish. Her extended hand's palm rested atop his head as her desperate fingers explored through the dark unruly strands, searching for the tiny bliss of her needs. She gently stroked through the locks falling on his eyes, wondering at the same time why it was never rewarded for its smoothness.

Then out of nowhere, her fingers covered his right eye that was now closed, gaining the odd satisfaction from feeling his eyelashes.

Shisui's calm eyes grew in width as his cheeks were stained with the palest shade of crimson from the sudden and unexpected gesture. Despite his ability of suppressing his emotions and thoughts, this was one act that kept him slightly _vulnerable_. And he knew he was drawn to the new surfacing feeling.

But his next actions told her otherwise.

"Remove your hand, Sakura," he said, hinting a tinge of annoyance in pretentiousness.

Playfully and quite stubbornly, she teased, "It's still hair." His order failed to constrain her hand from the thin path to the fulfillment of her small and insignificant wish.

That was until she felt a weight being rested on top of her head.

Out of the heavily somnolent state that she had just drowned her senses in had Sakura bursted herself from, ascending herself from the pit of vulnerability.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she gawked at him in expected surprise.

"You said I could do anything," he simply answered to her statement that had not only ended with a series of question marks but with an army of exclamation points as well.

Red fuming words were about to be slammed into the Uchiha's face and his very own existence but her inwardly raging thoughts that were begging to be voiced out were restricted as the palm that had rested above her head controlled one index finger to tap on her scalp, sending a wave of a soothing sensation into her system that somehow depressed the levels of her emotional stress. Certainly, on a medical perspective, he had just released his chakra into a pressure point on her head in order to calm her down.

She didn't entirely _dislike_ it.

His fingers had scouted through the silky and short unbound hair of rose until they reached the delicately cut ends of which he had never ever expected to grow a color that was different from the pink of her whole hair for it resembled a shade that was closer to red. Playfully dangling with the ethereal-like tresses at one side, he rolled the other side's ends with his other hand's fingers like it was collecting a thread of strings.

After the passing of the moment of surreality between the two, a loose lock of pink strands was magnetized by the skin around her two eyes, shaping the instincts fermenting around inside Shisui's mind that was heavily dosed with pounds of an imaginary drug-like substance. It tempted him, oh it tempted him so bad to do it.

The unbound tress on her face was touched by his wandering fingers that desired to do more than just satisfy his sense of touch. It was the craving for something, for something to feel.

With his turmoil room of thoughts and his badly tempted fingers, the Uchiha tucked the loose pink lock beneath her left ear as gently as the traveling wind, as smoothly as the falling dew drops, and as slowly as the time encased by their private moment.

As the realization that his small gesture was intended to copy her habitual act of plain insignificance had permeated through her whole system, instead of the expected surprise to cast off the look on her public exhibit of emotions and thoughts, the only film being plastered onto her face was surprisingly, surprisingly enough, the look of what seemed like her own version of _innocence_.

And at that extraordinary moment, Sakura had dozed off into a much deserved sleep.

* * *

 **So, what do you think? Yay or nay? Is it kinda rushed? Well, don't worry if you think it is because it ain't gonna be. I'm sure no one's too excited for smut.**

 **The next update will probably take some time but most likely, it will be next week. I put a lot of effort into this and the next update will be a batch of three chapters so that no one will feel dissatisfied by cliffhangers.**

 **Yep, you can probably tell that I** ** _loooove_** **leaving cliffhangers.**

 **Please review, onegaishimasu! Constructive criticism and any other comments about my writing would really be of help.**

 **Naruto Instagram account: :-)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Hello! I promised 3 chapters in a week but I ended up with 2 chapters in 2 weeks and I'm sorry huhuhu. Writer's block got me just staring at the screen. Anyways, this chapter is kinda boring and there's no Shisui x Sakura interaction but I still think that this is important for the character and the plot development.**

 **I own Naruto. Yes, I do. In my dreams, of course.**

* * *

The first thing that Sakura had seen in the next morning were the crumpled sheets of white being laid next to her slender body. The sight of the disarrayed cloth was marked with the palest hints of golden rays from the window, already voicing out the fact that she and Shisui had fallen asleep next to each other and that the Uchiha had woken up at an earlier hour of the day before taking off.

Much to her surprise, getting off of the bed wasn't synonymous to feeling an excruciating amount of pain from the past grueling day. Much more to her surprise, the absence of the punishment was filled in by the warm feeling of added energy, stretching the potential within her to perform more strenuous activities. Her chakra recovery was finally accelerating up to its normal and usual pace with the help of her very much deserved slumber.

A clicking sound entered her own ears as she effortlessly struck an insignificant amount of chakra into her opened mouth in order to cast away the morning breath, a trick that was very well present in the knowledge of every shinobi and every aspiring one to the point that not knowing about such a technique was the same as having a dulled common sense.

She was determined to pay any heed to her instincts that had also been improving as seen by the vanishing of the effects made possible by the obliterating poison. Natural instincts ordered her brain to take control over her legs in order for her to go to the kitchen and look for the absent man. Although it was made clear to her by her senses as a ninja that no living signatures were lurking around the kitchen and possibly the whole house, her decision was still fixed on the idea of searching him in that area. Why, one would ask? Simply because it's Shisui being talked about.

After making the bed, Sakura still settled on the option to find him in the kitchen.

A few footsteps later, the invisible tracks created by her bare feet had come to an end on the floor of the destination as a colorless steam ascended from the meals on the dining table and ghosted by her nose that was now inhaling the presumable taste of what seemed like ethereal.

Her line of sight was fastened to the bright yellow paper sitting beside the prepared plate. Curiosity pushed her to near the table and read the note.

A snort was played by her nose followed by the beaming of her lips in amusement as she giggled over his husbandly act. Carved onto the radiantly colored paper were the words "Off to train."

The pleasantly smelling breakfast that was laid out on the table for her stimulated her sense of sight and smell for it had looked scrumptious and delightful just by its appearance. She inwardly smiled at the little act offered by the annoying twenty-one year old man. _That baka can actually cook and be a gentleman_ , Inner Sakura said as she mentally appeared next to her real body and playfully nudged her shoulder.

In appreciation, Sakura sat down and ate the meal, cherishing every spoon of the flavorful omairaisu. Afterwards, she washed the dishes, silently in contemplation, mentally debating whether to take her bath in his house or in her apartment. Deciding on the latter, the pinkette thought that it was rather odd and uncivil for a visitor to bathe at another's home without the owner's permission.

The room of thoughts inside of her head spoke and advised her that it was best for her to go home and enter a tub full of petaled water as soon as possible, making her question the reason for the urgency to which was cleared right after she sniffed herself. While determination and hard work were two crucial factors required for training, they were morals not to be abused for they can heavily affect one's condition, specifically, one's hygiene.

She headed for the entrance door and then her tracks were ended by a sudden confusion before she could even turn the door knob. Being a visitor inside someone else's house left her wheel of thoughts to decelerate in its churning pace for she was dubious whether to leave the door unlocked or find a way to have it locked without the keys. After a minute of spacing out, she simply closed the windows and the door, careful enough to make the house seem like it was locked from the outside point of view.

While walking to the gates of the Uchiha district, something had caught her attention and it gave her the duration of the whole trip to ache, whine, and question its reasons inside her mind. And it didn't help that Inner Sakura was boiling with rage and fuming in frustration.

After all, an idiot would be the only type of human being to not regard the situation as a fishy one, specifically a situation like being stared in shock and disbelief by every Uchiha that passed by her.

Could it be possible for her body odor to be inhaled from such distances? No, from the perspective of a medic whose knowledge on the human senses is quite formidable, it just wasn't probable to be the cause of their suspecting eyes.

The next thought pushed the lines of her eyes outwardly as she mentally spilled a drink that she had also been mentally sipping on.

Sakura was present in the famous and distinguished clan district at such an early hour of the day...

Which probably meant to _some_ that she had stayed in one's house over the night.

Which probably meant to _all_ of the _some_ that she was doing _it_ with him...

They wouldn't, would they?

It took a moment of further contemplation of and suppression of disgust for her to exit the widely renowned compound.

"Sakura-san!"

The ever so familiarly passionate voice had rang in her ears, halting her track of thoughts to an end. The bowl-haired shinobi grew in size as he ecstatically neared her from a distance, practically doing some kind of odd training while traveling towards her. As the self-proclaimed Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha landed on his feet in front of her, another familiar figure, rather, _figures_ , came into the picture.

After all, Inuzuka Kiba was quite adamant about having his companion, Akamaru, live with the same human rights.

Sakura was about to greet them the usual greeting but was interrupted by an overly depressed Rock Lee, "Sakura-san, while the springtime of our youth will last at this rarely shining moment, I must let you listen to the pleas of a man who fought an honorable fight for your beautifully woven hair that resembles the life of the cherry blossoms, your radiantly gleaming green eyes that symbolizes the peace of our beloved village, and most especially, your heart which could never be compared to any amount of gold."

And with such a speech of length and eloquence, he lowered his head and upper body towards her direction. While she was quite used to his flowery ways of expression of his affections (and that was an overstatement), surprise had taken over her display of emotions because for the first time in forever, the tight green spandex wearing man, Rock Lee, had just forfeited from the challenge of breaking the doors to her heart.

Turning to the chocolate brown haired man, she was about to ask him what the heck was the problem of the other one but another thing popped to bother her never-silenced mind.

Kiba's face was plastered with the same expression being worn by the Uchihas she had just passed by.

Oh, Kami, can someone just please give her at least a decent hint?

Certainly, her senses were still under the effects of the poison. And with that, the kunoichi felt a feeling that was similar to the irritation that Shikamaru tolerates on the daily.

 _So troublesome._

The man her friend often nicknames as "Thick Brows" knelt in front of her all of a sudden, dramatically closing his eyes. "I will forever treasure our springtime of youth, Sakura-san."

Despite the deep respect towards her savior from the Chuunin Exams, Inner Sakura mentally choked and strangled him.

"My love will remain undying, even if you are married to a man I am willing to rival with but it is your love for him that orders me otherwise, even if you are married to an Uchiha, even if you are, my dearest cherry blossom."

Sakura had to physically hit herself as her puzzled orbs followed the respectively round and sharp eyes of the men standing before her.

"Sakura, has Sasuke already returned from their mission?" Kiba questioned her out of an exploding mass of curiosity.

Inner Sakura had lost the will to live and so she hanged herself at the realization that she was still in _someone else's_ clothes. Her inner demon dug her own grave at the absorbed fact that her clothes were left at Shisui's house.

 _Shannaro, the Uchihas must be thinking about rejoicing over the birth of another phenomenon._

As fire spread around her cheeks that were now stained with her hair color, she lowered her head at the two jounins ever so curtly, saying, "Excuse me!"

And before escaping the piercing stares of disbelief, she shouted as she controlled her chakra, hoping that unlike her senses, it wasn't affected by the posion, too.

"Henge!"

As the running kunoichi's body, whose clothes had been transformed into her usual, decreased in size from the increasing distance, the Inuzuka mused deeply over the reason behind her attire and clumsiness. After all, he had always found her interesting, what with her flashing pink hair and all.

Turning to his furry companion, he said, "She didn't at least address us, did she, Akamaru?"

* * *

Two days have passed since the humiliating occurrence and Sakura was extremely grateful regarding the Hokage's assignment to Shisui, having prevented any more buildup of suspicions from his clan members who had stared at her like she had just eaten a Sharingan eye or something.

And somehow in the most decent way of expression, it came out _bothersome_ to her when she had heard that the obnoxiously upsetting Uchiha was off to a mission. It was oddly enough unusual as if it was something that shouldn't happen, as if Shisui and missions just do not mix well.

And it was an obvious fact to her that all the other people in the population of Konoha and the other villages beg to differ.

At the moment, she had come over Hinata's traditionally built manor, as expected from the heiress of the extremely noble Hyuuga main branch family. Her sister, Hanabi, had gone to a special training ground that was in ownership of the wealthy clan and was found outside the village. Hyuuga Hiashi, the father to the heiresses, had supported the younger female in her training.

Excluding their maids and servants, the enormous mansion was occupied by the two of them for the day.

The two female jounins had agreed on assigning the venue of their girl date at Hinata's house and of course, with her invitation.

Currently, Sakura was conveniently resting on one of the comfortable pillows set around the warm kotatsu, patiently waiting for her friend who had prepared tea for themselves without the assistance of their helpers.

Comforted by her solitude in her own room of thoughts, an image of orange, black, grey, violet, and silver flashed by. It couldn't be helped on her part to ponder the conditions and happenings of which her beloved people are under. First of all, Naruto was a risk-taker for the extremes and is nearly always the first one in their team to receive an injury. Although Sai, Sasuke, and Kakashi, other than Naruto, were the only men in their team who actually think before they act, they were the ones who needed her medical ninjutsu the most. After all, the annoyingly aspiring Hokage gained advantages from being the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, such as having the ability to heal his own injuries sooner than the normal.

Then there was another annoying blonde, whom she misses so much. _Where the hell are you, Ino-pig?_

The sound of loudening footsteps could be heard as Hinata neared the low wooden table and placed the tray of teacups on the surface. As she sat on the pillow across the Haruno, Sakura tilted her head and offered her a warm smile. "Thanks for the tea, Hinata."

The other kunoichi had beamed back at her before the two started to sip on their served drinks.

Sakura cleared her throat before speaking, "So, Hinata, when are you going to confess?"

The sudden and random question delivered the heat from the steam of the Byakugan princess' cup to her reddening cheeks. The pinkette giggled softly over her childish reaction.

"T-that's sudden, Sakura-san," she shyly protested.

As the two kunoichis conversed about the love of their lives, the image presented on the windows had transitioned from noon to afternoon.

As soon as Hinata had finished her second cup of tea, she voiced out a sudden realization that her memory had just struck her, "Ah, b-by the way, Ino-san will return next week."

That was the moment when a tiny halo sparked up between her eyes, as their conversation continued on and on, its length leveling to the weight left by the absence of the other annoying blonde in her life.

As soon as their friendly discussion faded to blank, a thought abruptly lightened the dark spaces of her mind. A mass of blight squalled by her whole wall of emotions, causing the petals of cherry pink within her to dry up and wilt.

"Sakura-san, a-are you alright?"

Dead green spheres lightened into its usual brightness after being cornered by the undeniable concern given away by a pair of glassy pearl eyes.

"I-I'm alright. Sorry, I spaced out." She ended it briefly with a chuckle that failed to convince the Hyuuga.

Momentarily, there was a pregnant pause before Sakura settled on the decision narrowed down from her seamlessly moving thoughts. Digging her upper teeth into her bottom lip and wetting it afterwards, she managed to look straight into her company while saying, "Uh, Hinata... is there some kind of risk to the use of your Byakugan?"

And when her mind registered the uncivil way she had just constructed her thoughts, she immediately topped on what she had just said, "Sorry, it came out wrong." Closing her eyes, she let out a nervous laugh before looking down on her teacup with her eyes hinting what seemed like worry. "Uh, what I mean to say is... have you experienced cases wherein your eyes would hurt due to overuse?"

After a fraction of a second, Sakura landed her eyes on the navy blue haired woman, who was surprisingly worried instead of being offended. Knowing fully well that the pinkette was not comfortable about further questioning, she responded, "W-well, there was a time when I trained with the Byakugan too much and my eyes acted up."

Without any amount of hesitation, Sakura questioned her in an instant, "What happened?"

Taken aback by her unexpected determination, Hinata chose to silently let it pass. "Tsunade-sama personally came to diagnose me of my illness and it was then concluded that I was temporarily blind."

As trivial as it may seem, the heiress didn't fail to catch the way the Haruno leaned in closer when she had dropped the word "blind."

"What kind of treatment did she give you? Was there some sort of medicine?"

Shaking her head, Sakura inwardly sighed as Hinata frowningly replied, "There was a medicine but I don't remember the details. I don't think it's still here, too. S-sorry."

Sakura thought that her luck was rather thinning.

After the two kunoichis bade farewell to each other, the pinkette exited the Hyuuga manor and sauntered her way to the bare pathway, mentally weighing out the options regarding her next activity for the day.

She blew out a sigh of exasperation as she held onto the idea of training with Team 7 or eating with them at Ichiraku's. Despite the fact that her tongue and spicy food do not get along, it was a regular thing for them to eat ramen together. Naruto would devour more than three bowls of miso flavored ramen, Sai would smilingly offend him with blatant flattery about his table manners, Sasuke would just ignore them while minding on his own meal, and Kakashi-sensei would probably apologize to the owners regarding the behavior of the whole group after Sakura would gift the Jinchuuriki and the artist with a taste of her inhumane strength.

Her wheel of thoughts lazily churned to a stop as her line of sight met a pair of pearl filmed impassive eyes of the man who was generally walking towards her direction.

"Neji-san, it's been a while," she greeted the long and brown haired Hyuuga who was dressed in his usual attire rather than in his ANBU uniform.

He greeted her back with a smile and slightly lowered his head out of respect, acknowledging the presence of the kunoichi, "Sakura."

Although their relationship have never been closed to at least being friends, they were well-acquainted with each other, having experienced battles between life and death on past missions and they would often see one another at the library. A fact of insignificance, it was to them, but at least they had _something_.

Alert rang to her senses when the Byakugan user signaled her with a wave that he was going to resume walking past by her.

And then a sudden thought scratched the walls of her mind.

And Sakura, being Sakura, just had to relieve her brain, "Neji-san, uh, can I ask you something?"

The question that had escaped her lips and broken into his ears caused him to turn to her with impassive eyes yet raised eyebrows. The gesture was made clear to her that he wasn't in a hurry nor was he attending to anything of importance. "What is it?"

His rather conspicuous presence had always intimidated her, this fact being the sole reason as to why her eyes were glued to the floor as he questioned him, "Are there any diseases or illnesses that are accustomed to the use of the Byakugan?"

Just like with Shisui and Itachi, it was a gift of Neji to be able to see through someone else's intentions through the acts they put up with, however small one may be.

Sensing no harm nor any malicious intent, he calmed his slightly narrowing eyes, reliving what seemed like memories from the back of his mind. "I've never encountered anything but Hinata-sama has."

Realizing that what he was about to share was in relation to what her friend had said on her own accord, she questioned him out of curiosity mixed with a tiny speck of desperation, "What happened to her?"

The ANBU member fixed his intensely calm gaze on the ground, watching the sight of memories being played. Sakura could have sworn to Kami that the quick flash in his eyes resembled worry.

"Hinata-sama had overused her eyes and I was there, taking care of her. She became temporarily blind." Pausing, a new emotion surfaced onto his face, of which she couldn't make out anything from it other than the teeniest bit of embarrassment.

"I was there, silently watching her. She would occasionally experience blackouts," he admitted before laying a glance on her, not even missing the slight increase of width between her eyes.

 _The symptom matches with Shisui's cases wherein his sight would often dim and blacken_ , the kunoichi pondered in silence.

Looking at the Hyuuga expectantly for additional information especially since the most crucial part to her task were the pieces that would make up the cure, she asked him, unaware of her raising voice, "What was the treatment given by Tsunade-shishou?"

Mild surprise was hinted at his slightly raised eyebrows towards her knowledge of the Hyuuga heiress' case. After contemplating silently about the answer to the statement being pushed onto him, he responded, "She was forced to close her eyes for a week with a blindfold on. Tsunade-sama gave her a bottle of pills, although, I'm certain it had already been disposed right after Hinata-sama's recovery."

Being fully aware of the limit to his knowledge, Sakura curtly bowed towards his direction and waved her left hand back and forth. "Thank you. See you!"

"Aa," said Neji as he bowed respectfully towards the back of the eagerly skipping kunoichi.

* * *

The globe had partially rotated as the Sun was floating in the middle of the bluest of sights above the ever so peaceful village.

Such a day was marked full of temptations for the Godaime Hokage whose stress levels were rapid in its ascension even if it was rightful to say that it was still noon at the least.

Simply meaning that her dry mouth was in need of sake.

The sound of three knocks reverberated from the door and through the whole office. Sensing the familiar chakra signature, Tsunade perked up from her seat and ordered, "Enter!"

A blur of pink zoomed to reach her desk as soon as the door opened and as much as she thought that the sight of her prized apprentice would aid in her mental stress, the visit offered by the kunoichi who had just passionately run towards her somehow added more to her problems.

Or did she look like she had just run because of her mental stress? That was definitely the questionable case. From the perspective of the most talented medical ninja, her brain that was achingly exhausted couldn't quite match up to the pace of the movements of her surroundings. _Damn that Jiraiya, he should have been the Hokage_.

"Tsunade-shishou!" Sakura greeted with unexpected enthusiasm, dropping the formal tone she usually puts up around her. Either way, she was beginning to sound like her loudmouth of a teammate and surprisingly enough, it was an insignificant blessing in disguise.

"What is it, Sakura?" the Godaime Hokage descended her face back to the desk, laying her chin on the smooth surface of the wooden disk that was, much to her irritation, marked with scattered papers and folders that she was mostly unwilling to organize. She would have to call her righthand woman, along with her righthand pig.

The pinkette fastened both of her palms onto the front edges of her table, sticking out her head forwardly. "Shishou, can I have a sample of the medicine you gave to Hinata before?"

She didn't fail to catch how straightforward she talked to her, which was a character found outside her own self. Really, now? Did Naruto lecture her disciple to push her to act more like him? Her senses informed her that that was definitely not the case and that was a good thing.

Nevertheless, she was more than interested to crack into the walls that were concealing the seventeen year old kunoichi's intentions.

It took a few raising of pale golden eyebrows and pursing of hesitant lips to be able to abandon her work as the village leader for a moment and lead the passionately seeming girl to the storage of medical supplies next to the library.

As soon as the bottle of infused pills was located, Tsunade handed the medicine to her, testing out for her reaction in order to decode her muted purpose.

Musing over the determination sparkling in between Sakura's hard eyes that were attached on the bottle her hands were tightly gripping on, a hologram of a quiet and improved version of an obnoxiously stubborn Naruto found its way being lighted in her mind. _Sasuke, eh?_

"It's a different case for the Sharingan, though," Tsunade let out her pressing thoughts.

Sakura's shoulders jerked upwards for a fraction of a second as she was obviously taken aback by her master's surprisingly correct guess. And that was an understatement of her reaction.

A tinge of amuse layered over the sannin's face at the girl's antic way of voicing her intentions.

After both of the kunoichis' recovery, Sakura pointed her gaze to the floor with her face directed to the Hokage, marking her display of emotions with the evidence of her seriousness. "What's the difference in the ingredients, shishou? What about the treatment?"

It was an unforgettable knowledge of Sakura's that her master taught her that nothing was still found nor formulated for the cure of the blindness caused by the Sharingan, the main reason as to why she hadn't asked her directly for a medicine specifically created for that purpose.

The young adult in disguise relaxed her thin eyebrows after hearing her subordinate's questions, absorbing the words in order to fish out anything of significance from her room of ideas. As she closed her eyes and unfolded the creases on the corners, Sakura then knew the answers to her own questions.

"I haven't researched in that area yet due to the matters with the Akatsuki. I'm sorry, Sakura," Tsunade confessed to her out of sincerity. Instead of the expected disappointment, the colossus of a feeling within her was weighed down by the loss of hope. It was deteriorating through the deepest areas of her mind as she drowned in the fact that she couldn't just persuade her master either. With her teammate's life being succumbed into danger, she couldn't just grab and slam her selfish wishes into her shishou's occupied hands.

Her stare was lifted off of the ground as she felt a warm touch comforting her shoulder, "Have faith in yourself, Sakura."

And at the following second, the melting emerald in her eyes steeled into greener spheres that radiated with a new replacement for hopelessness: determination.

* * *

One week has passed since Sakura had examined the bottle of pills that her master had given her. She had listed out the ingredients of the medicine, distinguishing each with its contribution to the recovery of the cells of the overused eyes. Every pill was infused with mostly herbs that were only found outside the village. Each herb had its own purpose. Extracted from her research were the effects of the herbs. For example, one plant was to assist in the proper circulation of blood to the nervous system, harmed by syncope, which triggers blackouts.

She had discontinued her study on the medicine due to the lack of knowledge on the Sharingan. It then became her decision to study all about the Uchiha's renowned doujutsu.

Six days have passed.

Twelve hours per day were dedicated to her blisteringly rough task. It had been a regular activity of hers to visit the library and borrow more books that contain pieces of information on visual prowesses. On the third day, she had encountered the eighteen year old Hyuuga and silently, they read together, sharing the same table. Usually, it was her pale-skinned teammate who would be her company in the place. It was nice to be accompanied by another individual who shared the same hobby.

Konoha's hospital was her favorite place in the village before the library. An addition to her list would be her shishou's personal reading area that was full of medical sources. It was one of the places where she had evolved in, from the useless genin to the talented woman she was in the present.

In the Hokage tower's library would she dig through the tall shelves for books about the human eye, as well as information regarding doujutsu.

At one point, the possibility of gaining valuable data through a visit at the Uchiha shrine had crossed her mind but she ended scratching the ludicrous thought, since such an act would be a crime weighing as heavily as stealing the legendary book of scrolls.

Presently, she was flipping through aging pages that had discolored from light cream to brown.

Time seemed to crawl out of its usual pace as her head increased in weight as each pair of tick and tock rang to her deafened ears.

 _Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock._

After searching through more pages, with some torn, some folded, and thankfully, none ripped, her weary mind then settled on the decision to give in to her temptations of inhaling massive amounts of fresh air.

Sakura exited the Hokage's tower, allowing her skin to be splashed with the golden rays from the sky, along with the heat that was burning into it.

Her sluggish feet lazily sauntered through the dusty ground, occasionally bumping into rocks of small to medium sizes.

After clearing her exhausted mind, a familiar sensation crept up to her chest, something she had never felt for a long time, a certain chakra signature.

That was when she saw a flash of pale yellow through the crowd.

Running through a vivid blur of crimson and pink, she screamed even louder than what Inner Sakura could muster.

"Ino-pig!"

* * *

"And he had uniquely orange eyes! He was so handsome, I wish you could see him, Forehead," chattered Ino as she sliced her half-sized green tea flavored cake. Baby blue eyes dreamily sparkled towards nowhere in particular as a hand was used to rest her chin on.

Across the table sat the pink-haired kunoichi who literally rolled her eyes at her best friend's never changing personality. She had the freedom to show her emotions to her, rather than doing those gestures mentally.

"Temari and I chatted, too, you know, about Shikamaru," the Yamanaka added to her string of experiences from the mission.

Sakura's attempt to further ask her about the two's seemingly concealed relationship was abruptly stopped. "How about you, Sakura? How was life? Missed me?"

A look of disgust played on her face as she replied, "Not really. I trained and also enhanced my medical ninjutsu skills."

Blonde eyebrows met at hearing her response. "That's how boring life was without me? Forehead, I thought you had the guts to take on my suitors with my absence as an advantage."

"Tch. I know better, Pig."

"You're the same as always. Still loyal to Sasuke-kun, eh?" the blonde sneered.

As tinges of red streaked over her cheeks, she exclaimed, "Shut up, Ino!" She continued in an attempt to switch the topic, "You're head over heels about Sai yourself, you hypocrite."

The expected reaction from her rival turned best friend would be an uneasy looking blush but instead, turquoise spheres lowered down its gaze as a frown crept up to her stained lips.

Extending the concern to the woman by hinting it through her emotions, Sakura asked, "Oi, what's the matter?"

Hesitantly had her former enemy explained, "He's not interested. H-he made it clear."

The pinkette frowned at her statement. She knew Sai more than any female had. Her annoyingly blunt of a friend's emotions were messed up and even the most basic expressions couldn't be delivered well to whoever was the recipient. She knew even that. After all, the library was a common favorite place of theirs and she couldn't help but peek on the titles of the books he would usually pick. The fact that he studies about the human emotions saddens her as a dear friend of his.

"Maybe you should be straightfoward. Sai can't easily understand things like that. Ask him out on a date or something," Sakura said to her with the utmost care she could possibly offer.

The disappointment on her display of emotions transitioned into what looked like mischief. "I have a date coming up with a suitor of mine, Forehead. We're going to Konoha's spring festival together."

"Eh? What about Sai?"

"Sai's on a mission. Besides, it's just a friendly date."

"Really?"

Mischief shifted to excitement as Ino exclaimed, "Oi, you should come, too! Like a double date!"

Leaf green eyes increased in width as Sakura practically yelled, "No way!"

The word "annoyance" was written all over her best friend's face but it was erased and replaced with a sly look. "You will come, all right."

"Not interested."

"Have a date by then."

"Like hell I will."

"Oh, maybe you won't."

Baby blue eyes narrowed with a mischievous glint sparkling over. Emerald eyes seethed in a desperate grasp for triumph.

And at Ino's next statement, Sakura wished Kami planned to take her life and have her devoured by the Earth.

"Maybe I will."

* * *

 _Shannaro! Damn that pig!_

Inner Sakura was furiously blowing fist-sized holes on an imaginary dummy of a certain blonde.

Blowing a heavy sigh to the wind of the eve, her feet resumed in its trip to her apartment complex.

Sure, she was silently rejoicing over the arrival of her best friend but that happiness cracked into shards after she had just been blackmailed into choosing a date to bring to the spring festival. Every single time had she tried to break into the walls of her brain and fish out some memory wherein she had committed a crime of blasphemy that held consequences like Kami distorting her peaceful life into a life that made her lose the will to live.

As another sigh of exasperation had escaped her lips, she lifted her chin in order to align her sight to the gleaming dots, contrasting the darkness of the sky. Had her mind been cleared of succumbing thoughts, she would have enjoyed more of the pleasantly painted view atop her. The light emitted by every star was, to her, a beacon overpowering the infinitely vast view of dead black, no matter how small it looked from her position.

A mass of wind bumped against the skin of her face, lifting up the tresses of her exotically pink hair. Closing her eyes, she reminisced through every single memory that had happened to challenge her and thought to herself, _The wind is so strong... but not strong enough._

And in the utterly next unpredictable moment, the wind zoomed through her with speed as formidable as the traveling light.

And as she opened her eyes, the darkness of the surrounding shadows greeted her, along with the darkness of someone else's eyes.

"Sh-Shisui...?"

* * *

 **Yes, I told you it was boring! But I did make up for it a little in the next chapter. Hehehe, chapter 9 is still being written and that's what you're all going to look forward to. At least that's what I think.**

 **By the way, thank you for the favorites, follows, and especially the reviews! The reviews especially got me working back on it. One review can actually cure the writer's block.**

 **Favorite, follow, and review! Constructive criticism is welcomed.**

 **I noticed that my Instagram account didn't appear from the previous chapters but I think that was because I placed the "at" sign. Anyways, my Naruto fan account is: uchihassakura (with a . between uchiha and ssakura bc it won't appear if I put it correctly).**

 **I follow back, btw!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Yass, boring chapter that was, I know. I'm kinda struggling with my writing style so I'm reading a lot to explore lol.**

 **Sorry to those who've read this early. When it was released, it was in codes but I fixed it already.**

 **I don't know which between Masashi Kishimoto and me owns Naruto. But I do know that the latter doesn't.**

* * *

A turn into a dark alley didn't serve as a shortcut to Sakura's apartment complex, nor did it serve as an extra path to her address either. This being said, the thoughts clouding mind of the man who brought her to the said place were, although questionable, hidden only for her to fathom.

The sky of the evening rained its own dimness over the vast view of the village. Even in the absence of the itinerant wind, the breathless air infected a cold slivering touch against whatever it encountered still, with her shadowed skin treated not as an exception.

Enveloped by black phantoms lurking from the roots of the surrounding tall buildings were two bodied figures, of which one was lightly shoved against a roughly cemented wall, the dead end of the alleyway, due to the balance being challenged by a pair of disoriented feet.

"Sh-Shisui...?"

Stupefied eyes were the remaining evidence of Sakura's indifference towards her dignity, dignity as a woman who occasionally tried to prove that she could flawlessly mask her emotions.

A meter apart from her stood the tall Uchiha who wore a high-collared black shirt paired with black ninja pants.

And the most utterly, utterly unexpected trigger to her added surprise was the playful smirk casted on his lips. "Miss me?"

Raised lines of pink sank down to near her eyes as she fumed over his act of teleporting her along with him to the alley. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Figured that it would catch your attention if I greeted you with a surprise."

Had it been another teleportation user, she would not have avoided the temptation to be lured by the expected reaction coming from such an unexpected attack, which was surprise itself. On several different occasions had Shisui attempted to start a conversation with her with his own ways in his own different league. That simply meant that one way, and an abused one of that, for him to start a conversation with her was to suddenly appear from thin air and catch her epic expression of the so-called word _surprise_. Contrary to the former thought, she had _slightly_ adjusted to his sudden appearances and that was most likely an overstatement.

"After a whole lot of attempts to corner me with your teleportation skills, you have only figured that now?"

Effortlessly, he took a step back as he bit into his bottom lip and disheveled his hair with his fingers. "Exactly."

It was supposedly her turn to throw her intelligent remarks at his face but his interruption held her back from doing so, "After a whole lot of attempts, you still don't get what I'm trying to do?"

"E-eh?" was the only thing her tongue could roll off of its tip. Blood circulated through her flaming cheeks as she grasped onto the collar near her chest with her right hand. Sakura wasn't entirely stupid. She had an idea to answer the question that had far too long lingered inside of her mind. But she failed to see that there was anything, rather, she succeeded to _fully_ see that there was nothing about her that could possibly spark up his interests. And for the reason that she wasn't entirely stupid, it became a natural decision to her that she mustn't dwell too long on the foreign idea for drowning in assumptions never gave birth to good things. "Sasuke" taught her this lesson when he had "attempted" to kiss her back when their genin squad was formed.

Her line of sight drew to her rightmost side, running away from the pair of charcoal spheres that seemed to deviously glint against the lightless walls.

"N-never mind that. What do you want?" she questioned him further, trying to decode his mysteriously looking face.

A pregnant pause halted their conversation to a temporary end as the Uchiha was delving into his own moment of contemplation with his dead blank eyes impassively boring right through her own that was fixed to her side.

"Just came to greet you, really," he shrugged as he replied.

Greet? In the most _humanly_ way, a greeting to a dear friend or an acquaintance was defined as being simply confronted with a wave or a smile or through words that most certainly need not exceed a sentence. Even the person who was the most terrible on handling issues involving emotions should learn the basics and the most appropriate way to greet someone else. Hell, even a certain person on her team could even greet with a more decent one compared to a greeting that involved the use of teleportation techniques to dark and lonely alleys.

" _Greet_? You could've just approached me like a normal human being!" in vehemence had she exclaimed to the sight of him, meeting his gaze.

He landed a step forward, drawing himself nearer to her body. Yet, Sakura had been through with his attempts to corner her all the time like she was some little girl who was so helplessly in need of other people to stand up and protect her, like she was her genin self.

And so she stilled her body, waiting for him to close their distance without any amount of hesitation. Maybe a little. After all, Shisui never failed to uplift her from her strongly built facade.

With his height advantage, he eyed down at her quite knowingly, searching through every feature that was detailed as if it was for him to solve. Her eyes were silently seething at his act and her lips' pursing was concealed with her thick mask, of which he was more than intrigued to break through.

And that was when he cut the act, as if something snapped beneath his eyes, as if a sudden realization shrouded him.

Abruptly had he made a complete turn, away from her and then he chose to amble through the narrow street. His right hand was lazily raised in an attempt to voice his farewell to her.

Sakura couldn't quite unlock the chest that housed whatever it had in store for her and only for her to discover. Not a single idea popped up inside her bright of a mind that could match up to his sudden act and an unexpected one of that.

Electrified through her thick skull was the memory of one of the conditions that her annoying rival turned best friend had set when she had blackmailed her into bringing a date for the village spring festival.

The deadline of what Ino had proclaimed as the _confirmation_ of the existence of her future date was tomorrow, despite the fact that the festival was distanced five nights away.

On the brighter side of the matter, such an urgency only meant that her friend was running out of men that would come to her balcony to secretly serenade to her and that difficulty would greet her if she had the time to bother looking for a testosterone-powered man just for someone who was at the very least, uninterested.

As the size of the man's body decreased just as the distance in between them increased, Sakura had to raise her voice and risk the chances of it becoming raspy. And that was probably being exaggerated. Nonetheless, anyone who'd prefer not to receive a taste of her brute strength would have to shut the hell up about the matter and blame it on her weariness from working her ass off for the day.

"Oi!" she called out to him. The red and white emblem carved onto his back could still be seen from her perspective. He lazed in his walking till dimmed tracks were discontinued. As he partially twisted his figure to get a good view of her, it couldn't be avoided on her part to mentally debate over the annoyingly truthful fact that _he_ was the good view. With the blended shadows of the tall buildings contrasting against his fairly white skin and the insignificant gleam on his right eye that was facing her, Inner Sakura secretly renamed her address from "Sasuke Fan Club" to "Uchiha Fan Club."

The silence occurring at the lightless alley was eerie, though it may seem as important as a speck to him. But what their senses had in common was that the pause was supposed to be followed with her say.

"U-umm, what you s-said... , uh," managed the stuttering lips of hers. In the rapid aversion of her gaze to the different directions had the prodigy regarded the conclusion that she was looking at anywhere else but him. And profoundly enough, that was synonymous to the obvious prediction that whatever she was going to proclaim to him at that very moment made her feel very uneasy.

Soon enough, he effortlessly strolled his way out to her, with his face seemingly unsusceptible to emotion as he had gained the insight that it would take her a serious look from him in order to compose her thoughts and deliver them well.

"What?" Shisui patiently uttered.

Much to his disappointment, his act of closing of their distance only influenced the kunoichi to show more signs of being uneasier, through the even more rapid movements of her eyes and the resting of her right hand against her chest.

And the stutters and stammers went on.

"Umm... what you said, you could..."

The next move he committed was not caused by a thinning patience but rather, a growing concern and the subtlest hint of curiosity.

He lightly fastened both of his palms to her shoulders.

And much to his dismay and much more to his surprise, the pinkette felt even more unstable, breaking into an emotion that was not likely familiar to the Uchiha. It had been another face added to her vulnerable side and the alien expression struck him, leaving him to confound briefly with astonishment.

Uchiha Shisui was the type of man who had the eye that could see right through another.

But Haruno Sakura was the only woman whom his eyes were blinded from.

She was a puzzle, a safely locked chest of profound mysteries he could not quite lay a finger on yet, just yet.

He couldn't decode the beautiful mask that she was wearing and somehow, it left him yearning for more chances to break through it, more opportunities to see right through it, and simply, simply enough, it left him desiring more of _her_.

As he dropped his arms from her petite form, Sakura reenacted her habit of tucking a loosely resting lock of pink strands beneath her left ear. The subtle act caused the insides of the twenty-one year old prodigy to feel somewhat... stirred.

Again, he questioned her, "What?"

And at that time, an idea of its own brilliance lighted up in his head.

Sakura was currently pursing her lips, constructing her disarrayed thoughts into one sentence, one question. Yet, she found it impossible to do so. It was a stubbornly arduous challenge, even though a self-proclamation of her ideal hobby being solving challenges kind of mixed in with the impressions of the people surrounding her.

Shisui seemingly attempted to close their distance once more with one step but that prediction was dissolved as her face was greeted with the brightly colored crest of his renowned clan.

As his structured figure traversed through the narrow pathway to the street, Sakura was convinced that in no way was she going to let him loose and get ahead of himself at her expense, without even bothering to let her finish.

"Oi, Shisui! You haven't heard me yet."

In a half of a second, murderously had she stomped in her tracks to the obscuring shape and with the almighty strength and a brutal one of hers had she gripped onto the raised collar on his neck, dragging his face nearer to her own.

His formed body was still tightly firm on the ground but his head was slightly bended down to level with her face. The kunoichi's exhibit of emotions was goaded with an expression of turbulence. The ebony-haired man was peacefully marking his lips with a smirk as he faced the fruits of his successful idea.

Onyx and emerald.

Sakura narrowed her eyes scornfully over the uneasiness melting inside of her, stammering, "You should... you should..."

In the abruptest way, her gloved hand harshly released the grip on the black fabric as she furiously snapped, "Shannaro! You _should_ go with me to the festival!"

Instantaneously, she averted her head to the right, pulling away from his face.

Backing away with one foot, Sakura prepared herself with whatever reaction he was making. Whether he was going to take lightly of her petty attempt or take pity at her expense, either way, it raised her nervousness and embarrassment levels, attempting to bang into an explosion.

With eyes shut and creases being folded atop her wide forehead, she took another step back as blood gushed beneath her cheeks. Deeming the long silence as a giveaway of his seriousness, she inwardly weighed the chances of the pause being surprise or a take-pity.

Realization of the way she had constructed her purpose actualized and so she immediately added a layer to it, "I mean, will you go with me to the festival?"

Sakura's eyes were still escaping from the sight of him and it didn't help that the silence was getting thicker and heavier by the minute. Instincts told her that she should attempt to lighten up the mood. Wholly facing towards his direction with eyes pridefully shut, she proclaimed to him, "It's an invitation. Although I prefer if you don't accept-"

"I accept."

 _What the hell?_

"E-eh? What?" stammered the kunoichi again as she diverted her gaze to the Uchiha, whose face was pulling out a seemingly devious smirk. She didn't entirely expect his acceptance of the forced offer but on the contrary, she wasn't yearning for a refusal either. She might as well go with an annoyingly good-looking Uchiha with annoyingly beautiful eyelashes rather than spend the festival night with a Kami-knows-what kind of stranger.

"Didn't expect you to confess so early, Sakura-chan," Shisui teased as he bit down into his lip, a habitual act of his that the pinkette found so oddly tempting.

"Wasn't planning, you idiot, " Sakura huffed out as she trudged around and past by his body, resuming in her very much awaited trip to her apartment complex. She was pretty much convinced that a dead end didn't have any pathway in store for her to reach her address. _Damn teleportation technique. Damn Uchiha._

"I'll walk you home, kouhai," the deep voice called out to her from behind as Shisui caught up to her side without exerting a bit of effort.

 _K-kouhai?_

She rolled her eyes. As flatly as her current tone could deliver, she responded with the utmost straightforwardness, "No."

And contrary to her previous rejection, he ignored her response and took an idle stroll with her throughout the thin path and to the main street. Although his stubbornness plucked out her attention, she simply could care less about the matter.

They took the shortcut to the destination, passing through the ramen stand wherein she would always see Naruto. Sometimes, the members of Team 7 would even find time to dine together, slurping the finely made noodles dipped in a soup that was rained with a variety of spices. Occasionally, she would delve into the theory that half of her male best friend was consisted of ramen. From a medical perspective, she knew so well that he was cutting his lifespan by consuming the spicy food three times a day. Hopefully, the Kyuubi would realize that its end would depend on Naruto's and that it needed to feed him with loads of inhumane energy if it wanted to avoid death by ramen.

The noise enclosing the walking pair directed Sakura's line of sight to her company since silence had been their only thread of conversation ever since they had taken off from the alley. Much to her surprise, it didn't bother her nor did it raise her anxiety levels over the need to bring up a topic. She didn't regard the quietness as something so awkward, instead, it was rather comforting.

She laid subtle glances on him, mentally listing down every small detail of what he was doing. Shisui's eyes were blankly boring into the night sky as if he was enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the village. Her glances turned into a curious stare as her line of sight diverted to the females that would pass by them, eyeing the famous man in awe and muted desperation from the hidden desire to make an approach.

She was taken aback when a question had risen up to the air, "Why are you smirking?"

Big and round circles replaced her passive eyes as she digested the question. Was she even smirking? Or did she unconsciously mask her face with that stupid kind of an expression?

Instantly, she turned to Shisui, who had stopped walking, influencing her feet to end their tracks as well. He eyed her quite curiously and sure enough, she didn't favor the idea of him being able to see right through her.

In an attempt to defend herself, she asked him back, "Why would _I_ smirk?"

"That's what I'm asking," he answered ever so effortlessly, coolly surveying her annoyed expression, much to her added annoyance.

The urge to tell him off, to tell him to stop looking at her, was rising its own mountains inside her mind, as if she was about to burst into a whole statement with exclamation points.

After a long pause between the two who were both standing in the middle of the streets, the kunoichi decided to stuff her nagging and save it for another time of heightened irritation. Researching about the Sharingan and the human eye had depressed her energy levels and slamming out her inner demon's yells into the man with her was definitely not worth the stamina left within her tiny vessel.

And it so happened that the thought produced another set of thoughts which had stimulated her awareness of the existence of the prodigy.

Sakura had to delve farther into their clan's doujutsu, as well as the cure to the rare blindness, but she had succeeded doing so while still preventing him from knowing because he was _away_ on a mission during those days.

And now, he's back even though it had roughly been just a week.

 _Stupid abilities_ , she inwardly muttered.

How the hell is she going to resume studying while still avoiding the fact about her activities to reach to his knowledge? And for Kami's sake, it just so happens that he prefers to dedicate the time of the day to countless hours of bothering her. Not to mention that he was also a former ANBU captain, which is quite synonymous to the fact that his remarkableness for information gathering is recognized by the Konohagakure population.

"Sasuke!"

Abruptly had the mentally wandering pinkette snapped back to reality and switched her gaze from side to side, curtly surveying every direction. "Wh-where?!"

As soon as she quickly directed her sight to the twenty-one year old man, the realization that her efforts to search for the Uchiha in question being futile stubbornly groped onto her senses, for Shisui, who was an extremely kind person in the eyes of his clan mates, was biting his lip quite slyly as if he was holding back a fit of laughter.

"You lying jerk!" Sakura angrily boomed as she concentrated her chakra into her clenched fists and swung her arm straight into his laughing face being the target.

Much to her dismay, much to her annoyance, and much to her disappointment, Shisui had effortlessly sidestepped to the right to dodge the deadly blow.

"Shannaro, you piss me off!" she yelled through gritted teeth as her body regained its normal balance. Swooping along with the direction of the light night wind, her right arm focused on its target: Shisui's face.

Unfortunately for her futile efforts that were probably assisted by her lack of chakra and stamina, the ebony-haired man had tightly gripped on her used forearm, effectively blocking the blow.

His obsidian eyes were silently telling him that she was locking her lips together, blocking the way of escape of the series of pants and shortened breaths.

Amidst the sea of innocently passing civilians, some shinobi, the sole spotlighted attraction was the sight of the silently fighting kunoichi standing before him, every eye glaring out to him a beacon of determination. Even if the recent attack was born from a situation of insignificance.

Sakura had to pray to the very much detested Kami that the desperate inhaling and exhaling through her nostrils were silent enough to fit the standards of her pride.

Letting go of the grip on her right forearm, Shisui impassively ordered with the effortless hinting of authority in his tone, "Follow me."

Surprise etched through the once seething eyes as she pondered the new concept she had just encountered. _He's turning more into an Uchiha._

And what surprised her even more was the odd willingness inside of her to walk in his path to whatever destination had been planted on his mind at the last second.

Silently cursing herself for allowing herself to be defeated and even more, be _controlled_ , she just then noticed that they had made a complete three hundred and sixty degree turn and had strolled through the fresh footprints that they had planted on the street earlier.

Sakura's line of sight followed the direction of Shisui's traveling body.

They were going to eat at Ichiraku's ramen stand.

Did he notice her staring at it earlier? Did he somehow sense that she missed the bright and vivid pictures of her and her beloved team together at the ramen stand?

An odd feeling coursed through her insides, propelling whatever had long been stilled by the loneliness without her dear friends.

Although she would never in her whole life admit it, it felt... _warm_.

* * *

Sakura's fingers slid across the dusty paper as her eyes followed the line of words and the squares of images.

"What does he look like, Forehead?" the high-pitched voice rang beside her newly disturbed ears as she shut her lids down and rubbed her temples with her hands hinting a glow of green.

Ignoring the annoying blonde companion wouldn't do her any good, specifically, it wouldn't put an end to her rambling questiond that were plainly fruits of boredom, that was also plainly a fruit of her stubbornness.

After all, was she to blame for Ino's insistence on keeping her company during a crucial hour that was supposedly dedicated to filling the profound voids of confusion regarding the Uchiha doujutsu?

A part of her scolded her, lashing out at her senses with the excuse that she wasn't strict enough to decline the offer of her bored friend. Still, the other half comforted her with the idea that several weeks of her best friend's absence needed to be filled in with more girly dates and hangouts.

And of course, that obligation was entirely different to the secret obligation of hers to assist in the recovery of the presumed impairment of a certain Uchiha's sense of sight. Their chatters about their sweethearts and gossips could be saved for a later hour, anyway.

It has already been two hours and Sakura has already closed one book from its last page and that would mean that she needed only another to study on for the day's goal. The scrolls were a separate case, though.

For the past one hundred and twenty minutes, her company would allow noisy ramblings roll off of the tip of her tongue and she was just there to pay no heed to her attempts to uplift her from the growing boredom. There was one time, though, when Ino had squealed in excitement over the upcoming fireworks show during the festival and that was probably the only moment when the pinkette's eyes lit up to a greener shade in interest.

Ino would throw her own questions about Sakura's promised date since she had told her earlier that she needed not to pluck one from her suitors to fill in the place, confirming the existence of her festival male company.

However, that was not enough to satisfy the Yamanaka. Sakura would also admit that she would feel the same irritation if she was in her shoes, having only told that the need for the other party to look for a willing male was unnecessary. After all, she hadn't even told her his name and his general background. The pig needed at least an idea of _him_.

"Is he handsome? Is he tall? Is he a shinobi?" Ino pressed on the matter further. The pink-haired kunoichi remained calm as she opened a scroll to its full length, intending to silence the blonde with silence itself.

"Could he match up to Sasuke-kun's league?"

The question stirred her insides, almost as if the digested pieces of information from her study were disturbed as well. Her room of thoughts washed away all the images of red and black eyes and presented a hologram of two raven-haired Uchihas with obsidian eyes, although one was taller.

Sure enough, she could admit to herself that both were extremely good-looking in their own ways, to the point that it unhealthily aroused the sexual urges of the majority of the female population of Konoha and even outside the village.

In terms of the ability part, it was a question with a clear answer. Shisui was stronger and more skilled than Sasuke, despite his condition. Hell, he was in the same level as Uchiha Itachi. But that sole information did not mean that Sasuke wasn't close.

And in a personality-wise view, her mind had to go through obstacles of headaches in order to narrow down into one conclusion. Although that was not entirely possible at the moment, she had an idea or two. Sasuke wasn't exactly the kindest person and that was not something she could only observe, but then again, he had his ups and downs. He was a loyal comrade and a family-oriented person. He was strong-willed and he _did_ have his own moments of sweetness, however rare they may be.

On the other hand, Shisui was still someone she couldn't quite figure out. Her first impression of her was of him being a respectable and respectful man but that all subsided as he called her with an annoyingly childish honorific.

She didn't know why the hell he still kept on approaching her, rather in the bluntest way, using his body flicker and teleportation techniques to surprise and corner her. There was one possible answer to the question but she thought differently about it actualizing into a possibility. What was his deal, really?

"Oi, Sakura, focus on your research, will you? You spaced out!" the high-pitched voice levered down her pile of thoughts to a pit.

Sakura noisily snorted at the hypocritical statement expressed by her friend. "Well, why don't you actually realize that this is a library?!"

The relief from lashing out was followed with the shushing of the librarians busily reading nearby. Massaging her temples again, she finally faced the attention-seeking woman.

"Finally, you talked to me, Forehead," Ino cheerily snickered, quiet enough to fit the standards of the watchers, rather, listeners surrounding them.

"Okay, I'm not going to say his name but I'm going to describe him anyway," the pinkette grouchily said.

"You're no fun," the other woman replied, although she couldn't deny the fact that she was inwardly squealing in excitement to finally hear details other than the confirmation of the unknown man's existence.

Sakura continued on anyway, "He has messy black hair, black eyes, uh, long eyelashes, yep, definitely long eyelashes." She paused for a moment, reflecting over her queered attempt to mask her admiration before she resumed. "Uhm, former ANBU, smart, yes, but _extremely_ annoying."

"Sounds hot," the blonde remarked. "I mean, if he's an ANBU, then that's definitely a turn on."

" _Former_ ANBU," Sakura corrected.

Ino mused over the repeated detail, frowning afterwards. "Former? No one's like that in our age group. Another village, perhaps?"

Sakura resisted the urge to tell her that that was impossible because she had been staying in the village for consecutive periods and that the Yamanaka could conclude that because she was also wary of the old-fashioned bird messaging way not being her type. Telling her such would not only be rude of her, but she would also be deemed arrogant.

"Nope, he's uh, twenty-one," she murmured, silently proud of her impressive memory from scanning his data back when she had examined him.

"I envy you! You get to have cool matured men while I'm stuck with a civilian of the same age," replied the blonde as she slammed her chin onto her palms. Sakura didn't fail to catch the use of the word "matured" instead of "mature." Mentally wrinkling her nose in disgust, she hid the fact that she was proud of that feature of Shisui as well.

"By the way, is Hinata coming tomorrow?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked, to which the loudmouthed woman countered irritatedly, "She's on a mission. What's with you? You're totally absorbed with this research thing."

It was true.

Sakura felt that she was obliged to create the cure to Shisui's condition, not only because no one dared to do so, but if she had to come up with some kind of an excuse, her mind would always project the idea of the reason being a personal thing.

That being said, she was totally throwing away precious minutes intended for studying over timely conversation.

Another hour flew by and thankfully enough, there was none left for her to read for the day. Sakura uncapped her pen and flipped the written pages of her pad paper over until an empty sheet of paper met her expectant eyes. She jotted down the newly digested information into organized bulleted points and tables.

While writing, as well as ignoring the complaints of the whining woman beside her, she delved into her own space of contemplation.

 _What is the difference between the Byakugan and the Sharingan?_ From what she had researched, the former wasn't intended for genjutsu techniques while the latter was, since it was connected to the spirit energy of a shinobi's system, also because the thoughts of a person served as the foundation of the desired illusion to cast.

 _What about Sasuke's Amaterasu, that caused his eyes to bleed and his body to black out?_ Sakura continued to dwell on the countering question, trying to remember the facts she had absorbed from the countless hours of studying. She concluded that the blackout was linked to the strain on one part of the brain and that Sasuke wasn't visually impaired because he knew when to use his eyes but then again, those were what she had known way back when she had studied for the cure. She had not found anything yet to oppose to the achingly significant concept.

Her weary eyes that voiced out her ascending stress skidded to the shifting woman beside her. Realization dawned onto her that maybe her company wouldn't just be of annoyance.

"Ino, does your clan have drugs for mental relief?" she asked, causing the blonde to jerk up in interest after three straight hours of talking to herself. Wary of the question being linked to her study, she responded with a long chain of chemical names that were foreign to her. Quite frankly, Sakura was surprised that she had memorized such and that surprise was replaced by guilt for forgetting that she was the heiress to the Yamanaka clan and that she was a medical ninja as well.

"These chemicals each serve their own purpose. Our jutsus often abuse certain sections of the brain and there's a chemical intended for each specific section," Ino added.

Sakura remembered when she had healed her teammate, Sasuke, due to the temporary impairment of his eyes. She had looked into the matter and found out that it was linked to the rear portion of the skull, the occipital lobe, since it was a region that receives input from the retina of the eye.

"What's the chemical for the occipital area?" she questioned, greatly satisfied with the direction of her thoughts and their conversation.

"Vicorcyllin."

 _The same chemical ingredient found in the medicine for the Byakugan_ , Sakura thought. That was the main similarity between the two doujutsus and the missing piece was what distinguishes the Sharingan.

Forcing out the juices from her efforts, she racked her brain until she realized that the genjutsu by the Sharingan was linked to rhythm, holistic awareness, creative thinking, spatial awareness, and even dreams.

That was what made the difference.

"What about the whole right hemisphere of the brain?" she leaned over to her friend, curiously eager for her answer.

"Well, there are a whole lot, but I can list them for you," Ino replied, puzzled by the extent of her will to push the subject.

Sakura heaved a sigh of relief and a heavy one of that as she finally trudged to the path to the discovery of the cure.

"Uh, Forehead, just to inform you, while these chemicals are separately available in our labs in vials, a single drop is highly expensive. This is to prevent our secrets and weaknesses from being taken advantage of by outsiders ," the Yamanaka hesitantly added. "Even Tsunade-sama needs the chemicals for pharmacy use but since she's the Hokage, she can trade the vials for A-rank missions that our clan wants to pass onto the others."

Sakura knew Ino meant that her clan intended to accomplish tasks and dissolve issues important and affecting the future of their clan, while letting other people be dirtied for the work so as to avoid leaking out the secrets to their histories and techniques.

It was a short circuit but nevertheless, Sakura was more than willing to pursue the path she had strained her body and system for, even if the path was filled with layers of obstacles.

She was going to request for a mission from the Hokage, an A-rank mission that would serve the Yamanaka clan.

She was willing to trade her life for those important vials.

She was willing to trade her life for someone else's.

"Forehead, I know what you're planning but you still got a date tomorrow!" Ino plucked her out from her sea of thoughts, snapping her back to a reality of unfinished notes and disarranged piles of books.

After a moment of clearing her crowded head, Sakura graciously beamed as she stood up on the chair and let loose the scream that her inner demon had just rang, "Yosh! SHANNARO!"

And of course, it was rather unsurprising for an act to cause the two kunoichis to be kicked out of the library.

* * *

 **Hello! I hope this made up from the boredom you went through from the last chapter and I'll update real soon because I'm excited to write about their date hihihi.**

 **Btw, the chemical is just made up./strong/p**

 **Also, I know Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) is so cliche but I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT AND I CAN'T HELP IT. I'm referring to the anime and manga btw. Tsukasa x Tsukushi all the way!**

 **Favorite, follow, and review! Constructive criticism is welcomed.**

 **Reviews are the ones that inspire me, though. Like if I see an added review, I get really happy and then I start to write. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and liked it!**

 **Naruto Instagram account: uchihassakura (with a . between uchiha and ssakura bc it won't appear if I put it).**

 **The next update will probably be this week :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: HOLAAAAA! AFTER N MONTHS OF HIBERNATION, I HAVE FINALLY RISEN FROM THE DEAD! I sincerely apologize for the extremely long overdue update. I felt guilty over the reviews. The whole school year was like the embodiment of hell. I got no time for sleep, social life, etc. I just worked and worked and worked and worked and worked.**

 **But here it is! The much awaited date! I promise to update every week!**

 **2 chapters for yall! Do I own Naruto? What kind of a question is that?**

* * *

"Although you forgot about the people around you, it's a good thing you forgot about your hair," Ino proclaimed in her usual bluntness as she ran down her bright pink tresses into lines with a big comb in her hand.

Indeed, her mouth could counter Sai's own. What a lovely child they would make. That, she was sure of. The future heir to the Yamanaka clan would conquer all sorts of speeches with its own lips that were powered by the most straightforward and rudest of all lips in Konoha.

Sakura quitted from the interesting concept, rather involuntarily, as her head banged back and forth between thin air due to the battle between Ino's comb and her stubbornly sticking ends.

"Shut up, Pig. I haven't got time. And be a little gentle, will you?" she defended herself while glaring at the sheepishly grinning woman who had just almost caused her neck to break.

"Well, don't worry about it. With your hair longer than usual, there are more hairstyles I can manage," said the blonde who was dressed in a sky blue yukata ornamented with white and dark blue waves that flowed throughout as that of roots. Her pale golden hair was styled into a high ponytail, her smoothly rich locks beautifully curled.

On the other hand, Sakura's yukata was colored a royal burgundy and what made it more royal was the fact that it was hand-painted with gold and cream white vines. The tube encircling the waistline hugged her petite little body, placing special attention on her curvy structure. Makeup had exceeded its own purpose for her facial features were not only enhanced but it matched the face of a human form of a goddess.

As her unruly hair was being tidied by a pair of soft hands, Sakura dropped along with the falling silence, utilizing the spare time as a moment to contemplate about, well, _things_.

It could be argued that a lot has happened ever since the disappearance of her team. The quality of being friend-oriented, it had been instilled to her naturally, leading to the inevitability of her mind to imagine the possible outcome if she was to spend the spring festival with Team 7.

The faint blush on her mildly powdered cheeks intensified as she inwardly questioned herself, _If Sasuke-kun was here, would he even ask me out to be his date?_

Mentally shaking her head, for physically doing so would disrupt the work of the amusingly concentrated kunoichi behind her, she dismissed the thought and giggled at the way she had just been ridiculed by her own feelings.

Truth be told, it was utterly not a possibility for Sasuke to ask her out on a date. Certainly, there wasn't an existent universe carrying that kind of circumstance, even if it was parallel to their own. She would have to cast a genjutsu on herself to actualize that concept into a reality, a fake one at that.

And at the _very_ least, Sasuke just couldn't be classified as the typical boy who would typically anticipate events such as silly dates and vividly colorful festivals. In all honesty, if Sasuke made it clear that he wished to go on one, her instincts would remind her of the past henge trick that was pulled off by a certain man with obnoxiously bright yellow hair.

What the hell was she doing, encouraging her own hopes up, anyway?

Mentally shaking her head again, the violent act sent waves to disrupt the thoughts in her brain, that was now forced to project another subject, a subject that didn't have to start with an S.

With an unfortunate fate she had lying in wait for her still, the next picture presented by her unconscious thinking machine was another raven-haired Uchiha. Sadly, her prayers weren't loud enough to be heard by Kami.

Because for Kami's sake, "Shisui" still started with an S!

It was a matter of fact that she was ridiculing herself with the discouragement of avoiding the thought of him. After all, they would have to meet up with one another at the shrine entrance in just half an hour.

They were going to have their date, the promised date. Specifically speaking, it was the date that Sakura had been forced to comply and attend to due to an extremely evil blackmail that involved the possibility of Sasuke being told of her hidden feelings.

It was plain cruel, the most indecent and unforgivable thing that a human being could commit, not to mention about having been reputed as a man being worthy of respect. Utterly, they were _utterly_ strangers with a complicated relationship. It was just bizarre for such a connection to bloom from two people not knowing a thing about each other until someone just had to test the other. It couldn't even be labeled as friendship. To her, he was not just an acquaintance either. Deep, deep, deep inside of her, there was that determination that was sparked up by her pride, holding her back from admitting that the bond Sakura had with Shisui was one of its own uniqueness that filled in the void that was left by the absence of Team 7.

And her hurricane of thoughts was disrupted, struck by a booming thunder that inflicted a clashing pang of pain. Literally.

"Ouch!" she shrieked with shut eyes as she instinctively repelled her head away from the unmerciful hands of the blonde woman whose sheepish grin was being widened to its fullest width.

"Sorry about that, Forehead," Ino apologized with the least bit of sincerity as she smoothly dangled the curled locks on both sides of Sakura's frowning face before removing her hands and placing a small mirror on her open palms. "Like what you see?"

Sakura held onto the square shaped object and surveyed the glassy screen while turning her head to several different directions in order to see her best friend's work through different angles. Her pink hair was gifted with a gorgeously done crown braid that came with curled bangs in the front that were halved into two. The jaw-dropping sight encouraged her to pray back to Kami and thank him for the existence of an annoyingly creative best friend like Ino.

"Like it? I love it, Ino!" squealed the pink-haired kunoichi as she stood up to face the blonde and hold her hands in expression of her gratitude.

Ino cheekily smiled at her before breaking up the rising moment of high-pitched squeaks and giggles, "Let's go then. Our dates are probably waiting at the shrine entrance by now." 

* * *

"Forehead, this is my friend, Tanaka Rui, the one I told you about," introduced the smiling Yamanaka as she extended her hand towards the man at her side, motioning the other kunoichi to express her formality.

Sakura held out her arm onto the direction of the said man who was in truth, quite attractive. Chestnut brown hair and hazel eyes would definitely leave positive impressions, especially on someone who possessed similar traits as her dear looker-loving friend. "Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you, Tanaka-kun."

After the exchange of warm greetings, the trio stood in waiting for the rather tardy man. As the blonde and brunette conversed about the planned activities for the night, Sakura rested her arms on the railings of the elevated ground, sinking deep in contemplation regarding the Uchiha's whereabouts. Honestly, being a man who possessed the irritating trait that her sensei infamously did was not included in her impressions of him.

Fifteen minutes passed by like the wind of the early night. It was about 6:00 PM already and the arrival of her so-called date was becoming questionable and she wasn't so certain if that was fortunate for her or not.

"Forehead, did you tell your date about the meeting details? Don't tell me you were too absorbed by your research," Ino exclaimed to her with folded creases, knitted eyebrows, and a joking grin that, thankfully, meant to her that she wasn't that serious. Something of that sort would be a situation out of her comfort zone, something she couldn't quite handle.

"He'll be here anytime now, Pig," Sakura assured her with a nervous smile plastered onto her face. It was her momentary wish that she bore the ability to fake her way throughout unnerving situations at the same level as Sai.

 _Where the hell are you, Shisui?_

From the height of the ground, the lighting of lamps and the swarming of villagers below could be seen by her eyes. The festival was starting and her date was still nowhere to be found.

And somehow, with Ino being accompanied, the absence of the ebony-haired man made her feel... lonely.

As time passed by, the yearning for his presence grew inside of her, her invisible hands reaching out to _something_.

One minute.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

 _Where are you, Shisui?_

"Sakura."

Emerald eyes widened in diameter at the sound of the deep voice calling out to her from behind. A pause so pregnant fell upon them as the variety of possible reactions to throw at him was being weighed out by her mind. Instinctively, she drew the natural one.

Turning ever so placidly, she diverted her body to the direction of the twenty-one-year-old prodigy, allowing the lively lights to gleam against the edges of her face from behind.

"You're late," she coldly spoke, sending a wave of iciness towards the tall man before letting loose her jolting arm as it swooped to the direction of his face. "Shannaro!"

Her heartfelt blow was blocked by Shisui's hand that had enveloped her whole clenched fist. The physical contact of his warm skin against her own sent an oddly satisfying feeling throughout her system, madly electrifying throughout.

It was strange enough how a touch so simple could create a powerful force.

At the next passing moment, Sakura swore she felt something trembling from the touch. The weight resting on top of her knuckles was getting heavier and it seemed to her that the touch gave away a feeling of weariness, of unrest.

Shisui's hand was shaking.

In a fraction of a second, abruptly had he released his grip from her hand, slashing the contact apart.

Green eyes transitioned from anger to concern from the sudden act, skidding over to the blank obsidian eyes of the man in front of her, the man who was surprisingly grinning at her with his bottom lip being bitten.

"I'm really sorry for coming late. I promise to make it up to you," he said with the utmost sincerity, running his hand through his jet black hair. Strangely, it was an odd sight for her to see him without his forehead protector. Although she would never in her years of living admit it, he looked more handsome than he already was.

After the exchange of greetings and apologies between Shisui and a pair that consisted of a neutral brunette and a shocked blonde whose jaw had been hanging for an entire minute now, Ino walked up to Sakura's left side and elbowed her with a frighteningly sly look. "Your date is a looker. How come you never told me about him?"

"We're just..." she paused as she thought about their relationship. If she were to proclaim that they were friends, then that would make them have a weird friendship. Somehow, their relationship was similar to that with Sasuke's. And she wasn't even so certain how such an idea occurred to begin with.

Much to her surprise, the Yamanaka had a thin line of patience towards the ending of her sentence. "Uchiha-san!" Ino called the ebony-haired man who was currently strolling to Sakura's right side.

"How does Sakura look right now?"

The rather straightforward question caused the pink-haired kunoichi to madly fume in embarrassment as she exclaimed in the most desperate way to voice out her need for a savior to pluck her out from such awkwardness, "Pig, there's no need for that! Shisui and I aren't like that."

Sakura switched her gaze to the right and nervously tucked her curled lock beneath her left ear as she laid a subtle glance on the Uchiha with a kaleidoscope of emotions swirling inside of her: fear of what he may interpret from the question, fear that he may disregard the question, and fear that he may answer negatively to the question.

Fear was all that's left.

But if fear was present, then how come it was possible for hope to spring up within her?

Silently, silently, ever so silently, she hoped that his response would serve as a compliment alone. For in all honesty, she felt disappointed when his face was rather blank when he first saw her.

Slowly, her still yet unsteady eyes glided over to the sight of him.

And truth be told, she knew nothing of what to make out from his reaction.

"She looks... beau..."

Their contrasting eyes met for a fraction of a moment.

That was until Shisui immediately directed his face far off to the view away from her and hastily disarrayed his dark hair with the smooth running of his fingers.

If Sakura could fit his currently surprising behavior into a description of accuracy, she would have to agree that he was definitely not being played by his own usual self. After all, she did have the bothersome idea of him just responding to the sudden question with blatant flattery.

 _What the hell was that just now?_ spoke the jittering mind of the pink-haired kunoichi whose thoughts were flooded with swarming doodles that intended to picture out the many interesting ways of ambushing the man who had just avoided her with chakra-powered jabs.

Ino surveyed the thickness of the air between the two for a couple of seconds before settling onto the decision on siding next to her own date who was rather feeling isolated from the trio.

 _Beau... beautiful?_

Sakura instantly drew her line of sight to the seemingly moving ground as the group continued its stroll to the entry to the booths and stalls. Her eyes lightened at the thought that was stubbornly sticking to the walls of her mind, turning greener and greener by the passing seconds.

Mentally shaking her head, she dismissed the ridiculous thought before any sort of assumption could bud and sprout in her brain. _It was probably to show his polite side to my friend_ , she silently mused.

The whole duration of the trip was for her to suffer as the Uchiha walking by her side was unusually quiet while Ino and her date were chattering about a seemingly interesting subject she couldn't quite catch up to. Although she had been comforted by the silent thread between the two in the past, the silence falling upon them currently made her feel slightly insecure.

As the foursome reached the entrance mark of the celebration, Sakura's eyes sparkled at the vivid sight before her. The lively projection of lights throughout the line of booths and stalls sent out an invitation to her, drawing her curiosity and fueling her excitement.

Before she could even mark a footprint on the street ahead, Ino called her with baby blue eyes eyeing her quite knowingly. "Sakura, I'll be with my date now. See you at the fireworks display by midnight!"

And then it hit her.

The ever so clueless and naive pinkette had been set up to go out with someone right from the start.

That being said, the "double date" title lost its own meaning.

"Oi, Ino-Pig! You can't just do that!" screamed Sakura with eyes replaced by glaring flames and fists clenched into chakra-infused taijutsu stances.

It was rather unfortunate on her part as the liar of a woman had voiced out her farewell and quite rudely as she and her partner were no longer visible from the sea of dressed people in front of her.

"So you played along just to go out with me?"

The sudden sound of the silent man's speech had caused her mind of rambling thoughts to be locked under a stupefying spell. She turned to the Uchiha whose infamous smirk was now drawn again on his face.

"You were awfully quiet," she commented out of bluntness without any hint of hesitation nor discomfort, paying no attention to his remark.

Shisui began to traverse through the street full of villagers as did Sakura who was right by his side. They passed by several food stalls that invited them through the potent smell of roasted meat and seasoned sauce. "It's nothing, really. I'm always like that."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him in mild annoyance, pridefully throwing an intelligent remark, "Around me, you aren't."

The expectation of being slammed with a comeback that was equally as clever was dissolved as soon as the Uchiha eyed her with a rare and serious look.

"Observant, aren't we?" he responded while tilting his head backwards and digging his teeth into his bottom lip.

 _What's that supposed to mean?_

Sakura found herself drowning in a sea of profound mysteries about the Uchiha's unusual demeanor. Interpreting the meaning by what he last said, a mental dead end greeted her track of thoughts.

The momentary silence from her deeply set contemplation was interrupted by the ramblings of a silver-haired boy who looked like a thirteen-year old version of her sensei. Tightly held by his small hands were a pair of sparklers that emitted a bright glow in its own uniqueness.

"Fireworks display at the open quad by midnight!"

Some would look and stop to listen to the boy's announcement while some would simply pretend that his existence was as important as a speck. Although she didn't end her tracks, Sakura slowed the movements of her legs as she attentively paid attention to the young teenager.

"Make a wish and it will be granted by the light spirits! It is said that pairs who watch the fireworks together will last forever!" the small boy advertised, receiving more stares from the crowd out of interest.

For a single moment, emerald eyes gleamed at the thought of being able to witness the bursting of colors into an explosion in the midnight sky. She was concerned the least about a wish being granted or a relationship lasting for all eternity. She had always loved watching the fireworks blast in action and when Ino had mentioned it in the library, the anticipation never succeeded to escape from her insides.

As they fully passed by the little boy, Sakura quickened her pace as her eyes met a uniquely decorated booth that seemed to hold a heavily mysterious aura. It was covered with massive violet curtains made from velvet and the booth's lack of a displayed name only fueled the curiosity from within her.

Turning to her ebony-haired company, Sakura suggested, "Let's go inside."

The blank nod from the man confirmed his approval as the two entered the booth, that was surprisingly as dark as pitch inside.

Despite the lack of light, the two, with their shinobi senses, could sense the presence of another. The obscure details of the person in question was cleared as a faint light glowed right in front of them, revealing an old woman in an indigo hooded cloak whose wrinkled hands were stirring a liquid in a wooden bowl.

"Welcome, welcome," the woman greeted them with a tone that sounded in between formal and creepy. Sakura's unvoiced question was answered as she added, "Would you like to know your fortune?"

Fortune? As much as the kunoichi had no faith in black magic, it couldn't be helped on her part to be struck in awe and be left craving for the unknown wonders it held.

"Yes, please," she replied with muted eagerness as she drew herself closer to the table that was shrouded with black fabric.

Shisui smoothly took one step to reach her side, masking his face with a blank expression. The plastered emotion left Sakura to wonder whether he was hiding his excitement or just plain indifferent to such. Of course, with his ability to give people different ideas, there wasn't anything new.

The elder stirred the pitch-like substance slowly before stopping to squint her dull gray eyes at the remnants sitting on the liquid's surface. Momentarily had she wrinkled her nose upon the sight before laying a rather condescending stare at the pair.

"The two of you..." the hooded woman pointed a trembling finger almost accusingly at the duo with two eyes narrowing in what seemed like a sly manner.

"What is it?" Sakura asked after the moment of which excitement pumped up her rapidly racing heart. She was a thousand times more than curious to look into her future and catch at least a bit of a glimpse, even if it was involving the man beside her.

On the other hand, Shisui was seemingly waiting with a decent amount of patience, what with his neutral facial expression, it was not in any way questionable.

"Two years from now, I see the two of you together in one bed, oh my," the fortune teller gasped quite cheekily as the two just locked a stare with her, in their own styles.

Heat grasped the fair cheeks of the Haruno as she attempted to digest the words that had escaped into the heavily falling air.

"No way! We're not like that!"

"You," the woman pointed an index finger at the pink-haired kunoichi, whose eyes were widening at the sudden acknowledgement. "You will be married to a man with black hair and eyes, a man with unique eyelashes."

At the next split-second, Sakura's mind jittered down into countless rubbishes as her eyes grew wide at the prediction. Instantly, she laid subtle glances on the Uchiha standing beside him, who was currently nibbling on his lip.

It took every ounce of courage to raise her question into the air.

"What's his name?"

The fortune-teller tightly shut her eyes, creasing the already creased skin of her forehead in the process. She slowly opened her eyes and replied, "It's not clear. But it starts with an R."

 _Black hair. Black eyes. Unique eyelashes. Name starts with an R. Who could possibly be my future husband?  
_  
After several seconds of deep contemplation, Sakura mentally choked herself as an image of a bowl-haired man in tight green spandex clothing was projected in her mind.

"E-eh?! That can't be true!" she protested against the woman who was currently throwing intense glares at the pinkette.

"Silence! Thou shall not question thy teller!" angrily yelled the elder. Sakura narrowed her eyes in annoyance. The stinging words of the mad inner demon inside of her badly tempted her to be completely possessed by Inner Sakura.

The fortune teller turned to the twenty-one-year-old prodigy, with a quite sly look. Sakura didn't miss the way she had just licked her lips while fixing his gaze on him.

The Uchiha remained in his usual stoic look as the woman tightly shut her eyes for a whole minute before abruptly opening them with evident worry and surprise.

"A few months from now, you will be greeted by... death."

A silent wind breezed through the booth as time crawled ever so placidly.

Cold, cold, everything was cold. Gushing throughout her inner system were lines of ice, violently invading and wrapping its own harsh arms around her mind of swarming thoughts.

Cold, why had everything become cold? Why did it have to pierce through her? More importantly, what was that severely icy feeling coursing through her veins?

It was pity, perhaps. From a medical perspective, it was definitely pity. He could be classified as a friend, maybe? Then the alien feeling was also a fruit of the worries that had risen inside of her towards a _friend_.

Shisui didn't deserve to die. The nearing blindness wasn't associated with any side-effects that could lead to death, at least that was what she had known and studied.

Sakura glanced at Shisui. Surprisingly, the man was slowly grinning as if he was holding back a fit of laughter.

 _What the hell is so funny?_

The loud sound of a jab on the wooden table surprised the fortune teller when Sakura slammed a bill she had thought was enough for the ridiculous service.

"Thank you very much, Madam. We look forward to experiencing those lovely predictions," she said with a heightened cleverness in her bar of sarcasm.

She then exited the tent while dragging the Uchiha along with her, leaving the old woman with a rather funny look.

"I don't believe in that hag," Sakura said with much annoyance as the two continued to stroll along the busy street.

Shisui looked at her with an amused look. After all, the pinkette was showing another side to her. It was like another interesting door with an interesting knob.

"Neither do I," he replied while smiling at the ground.

Sakura just continued walking while rambling, "She was obviously lying for money. First of all, while I really do respect Lee-san, there is literally _zero_ percent chance for me to go out with him. Second, it's really funny how she said that we're going to be together in a bed two years from now when she even told us that you're going to die in months!"

"Hmm. I do like that prediction with us in a bed though," the raven-haired man replied while biting his lip.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

The kunoichi continued ranting. However, inwardly, she was being suffocated by dark thoughts and feelings. Inwardly, she was trying her best not to shed a single tear for the Uchiha to see. Inwardly, she was anxious and depressed.

The night went on. Miniature diners along the streets were stuffed by starving villagers and tourists. The pair decided to eat at a maki restaurant.

Hours after filling their empty bellies, they decided to continue strolling. It was minutes before the ringing of the midnight bell. It was minutes before the explosion of bright colors in the dim sky.

While strolling, word about the fireworks display became more common by the minute. Moreover, the myth about light spirits granting an eternal bond between lovers who watch the fireworks display together exited many random people's mouths. Sakura was euphoric with excitement, although she was trying her best to hide it from her date.

The streets lighted by the yellowish orange lamps were flooded by waves and waves of people wishing to see the fireworks. The traffic caused was evident even from afar, since literally everyone was heading to the display venue.

With the crowds being loaded by people in every passing minute, Sakura moved a little closer to Shisui, careful not to appear clingy.

Shisui, who had been watching his silent date all this time, carefully studied her moving eyes. All the while after dinner, he had noticed that her green eyes were in love with the sight of lights. He had noticed that her green eyes gleamed whenever they passed by people spreading news about the fireworks display one way or another. Whatever her eyes told him, he loved the enthusiasm lighting inside her jade orbs.

All of a sudden, the sight of bright pink hair dimmed. The sight of royal burgundy cloth being lighted by street lamps became blurry. The scene projected to Shisui's eyes was instantly followed by plain darkness.

In the next second, the nerves drawn along the right hemisphere of his brain ached and he was left to bear with the pain in silence.

Sakura turned around to check up on her date as soon as she had noticed his feet slowing to a stop. The momentary pause in their steps attracted glares from people jostling their way through the crowd, as they were blocking the path right in the middle of the street.

Emerald eyes widened when they had caught the very short moment of onyx eyes being covered by two hands.

Shisui immediately lowered his hands from his face to return a look to worry-filled eyes.

Sakura was hesitating. She didn't know what to say. She was too engulfed by shock and worry. Nevertheless, her brain told her that she _still_ needed to speak.

"Are you ok-"

"Sakura-chan, I remembered that I needed to do something. I'm sorry for forgetting to tell you in advance. I really enjoyed spending time with you. I hope you enjoy watching the fireworks," Shisui said with a seemingly genuine smile.

Before Sakura could respond, the sight of the Uchiha was buried by busy people who were desperately jostling their way through.

She had lost him from the crowd. Just then, she could no longer feel his chakra.

* * *

 **How's that for a cliffhanger? Well, dontcha worry. I published this along with the next chapter.**

 **Favorite, follow, and review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: This one's extremely shorter than usual. I know that my writing sucks lately and I'm not anymore using much imagery nor am I making my sentences verbose enough to make them more descriptive. I've become a lot more straightforward and my writer's block is killing me huhuhu.**

 **However, despite all of this, I am still willing to finish this. However, despite my Will of Fire, I still do not own Naruto.**

* * *

The sky was heavy with trepidation, to Sakura's gut at least.

She turned her head to the left, to the right, and to the back, before facing the front: a massive crowd of people excitedly trotting in the direction opposite to hers in the hopes of reaching the fireworks display venue on time.

Beads of sweat clung to Sakura's cheeks, as she attempted to sense Shisui's chakra from a long distance. She continued hurrying to wherever, because after all, her shinobi senses told her that either he was very far from the shrine or he was masking his chakra very skillfully.

Whatever it was, she was still agitated by the fact that he had to pretend that he was carried away by the massive crowd earlier, only to teleport his way out of the area afterwards. The ill-tempered Haruno was pissed alright.

The fireworks display was going to start in twenty minutes but at the very moment, she was more overwhelmed by the possibility of Shisui suffering from the severe pain.

Her room of thoughts were drugged by the intoxicating thoughts of just about the Uchiha. _What's happening to him? What is he doing at the moment? Where is he now? Why is he being cold? Just why the hell does he not want to be healed?_

Every thought dug trenches in her brain that she didn't anymore know what to think.

As soon as she reached the shrine gate, she took a few seconds to look back at the innermost circle of the festival venue to take a glimpse of the preparation for the fireworks. Without a second thought, she continued to hurry and search for the Uchiha, leaving the shrine behind.

The air was lifelessly breathing its own icy breaths, making it less easier for the Haruno to wander around and sense Shisui's chakra. After all, being in a yukata is much more of a hassle than how it looks like. The thought of transforming her clothes into her usual shinobi attire crossed her mind. However, if she were to heal Shisui's eyes for a temporary effect, she had to save enough chakra. And it's not like she naturally had the biggest share of chakra among her comrades in Team 7 though.

The Uchiha compound was the first spot she had thought of executing the search in despite the fact that it was distanced at miles away from the shrine. For Kami's sake, Shisui was a former ANBU, which meant that if he didn't want Sakura to find him, it would mean being able to outsmart her is the way to go. He must have thought that she would search for him in places near the shrine due to the fact that he was in a critical condition at the moment.

Naturally, Sakura checked Shisui's house at first, since it was likely that he thought that Sakura wouldn't go to someplace obvious. Despite her efforts in overanalyzing, her venture to the house just proved that his presence wasn't located there.

After resting for a while, Sakura decided to not go out of her way directly to search for him. She had to think before deciding. She had to think before acting. That way, she could save enough chakra to speed up his recovery process.

One thing that she had observed about Shisui was that he had his own share of similarities with Itachi and Sasuke. Just like the other two raven-haired men, he was also drawn to silence and peace. There was no need to question the fact with a "why". It was rather a fitting image for a man who housed profound mysteries.

And it was in the next passing second that Sakura knew just where to look for him within the compound.

In an instant, she propelled her feet to action. Every step she took was darker and more evident, despite how the tall buildings in the compound showered its own film of shadows over the ground.

Sakura remembered that time when Team 7 was on a mission and when they felt the need to camp out, they conducted their own storytelling event, which was, of course, initiated by a certain Jinchuuriki.

They went on and talked about how they had learned their first jutsu. Sakura remembered being embarrassed when it was her turn to share. After all, the very first she had learned was the very first one taught in the Academy. Naruto's, Sasuke's, and Sai's stories were far more interesting.

And when it was Sasuke's turn to share his tale, he shared about learning the fireball technique with the help of his father when he was still in the Academy. He would go to their usual training ground, right around the bay to the compound's lake, a sturdy bridge.

Naturally, a teammate who's in love with the storyteller would bless him with a whole lot of questions, some obvious and some unnecessary. However, Sakura knew better. She was the type to ask interesting questions whenever Sasuke would talk, the Q & A often followed by the gleaming of jade eyes against raven.

So back then, Sakura asked Sasuke why he, along with his relatives, would go to that area to train, other than the fact that it was a convenient area with a lot of space.

Instead of being his usual irritable self, the Uchiha actually replied to her with a proper answer. He described how the lake shaped a peaceful and quiet atmosphere, a type that he is usually drawn to. And as always, he fascinates the rose-haired kunoichi.

And with the knowledge of Shisui and Sasuke's similarities, Sakura's jittering mind was emptied out by the will to search for the former.

 _Running away like a foolish coward... you think you can just shut yourself out like that.  
_  
Sakura had reached the training ground.

Emerald eyes that voiced out her anxieties skidded over to every corner through every angle to search for the man who ran away. Inwardly, she concentrated her chakra on her sixth sense, the one especially used to locate a shinobi's presence.

And what Sakura had sensed was one with a strong front but one that was weakened at the moment.

Immediately, she turned her head to the spot where the chakra was sensed at. Her eyes met a shocking image that alerted her senses and instincts right away.

He was there.

He was suffering.

He was shaking.

The sight of Shisui's legs dangerously shaking pushed the medic to come to his aid right away. Before he could collapse to the wooden bridge, she had immediately run to him to catch his lifeless body in his arms.

The sky weighed of heavy breaths and pants.

Onyx eyes widened at the realization that he was being held by Sakura. That he was being held by the woman he had just left. Seconds later, his eyelids grew heavier until they finally shut his eyes the way curtains do.

 _This is it. Now's my chance._

Shisui had blacked out and Sakura knew that he was going to wake up anytime soon. This was her chance to diagnose him without him knowing. This was her chance to take a step to fully healing him.

Green chakra glowed around her hands as she laid her palms inches above his closed eyes, relieving him from the pain, improving the quality of the eyes' performance, and diagnosing him at the same time.

After beads of sweat trickled down her face, Sakura panted and panted, hungering for a huge amount of oxygen while doing so. As soon as she made sure that every kind of possible treatment was done, she rested her hands and energy and stared at Shisui's sleeping face.

If there was one thing that she obtained from the diagnosis, it was that not only would he be blind in months, but he would also experience even more adverse effects. Sakura just couldn't grasp what kind. Nonetheless, it was not beyond her will's barriers to do so.

Sakura's weary eyes laid on Shisui's hair. Instinctively, she ran a hand through it, exploring through its softness and smoothness. She lifted her other hand to stroke his cheek in circles, a natural act that surprised herself, but not surprising enough for her to stop.

Just then, the booming of fireworks reverberated through the whole village, serving as a sweet midnight bell. The pinkette turned to look at the sky, only to find a dim layer that was occasionally brightening quite insignificantly. However, much to the lady's dismay, the colors of the fireworks didn't reach their line of sight in the sky. _Probably not even big and grand_ , she thought.

The sound of fireworks was overcame by a series of groans that came from the man who was sleeping in Sakura's lap, much to her surprise, and even much more to _his_ surprise as soon as he finally realized what had happened.

Shisui immediately sat up and locked a questioning gaze at the Haruno. "Why didn't you go ahead?"

A smile was drawn on Sakura's lips. "As always, you're an annoying and ungrateful idiot."

The Uchiha didn't dare respond to her with a wittier comeback. Sakura thought that maybe he was too overwhelmed by the surprise or the still existent pain from the blackout. He just didn't say a word. Amidst the silent atmosphere, he just effortlessly laid his eyes on the sky as the bang of fireworks continued to ring.

That was all, until, the raven-haired Uchiha stood up on his feet and performed hand seals in a flash.

Facing the lake, he leaned backward to inhale a large amount of air before bending forward to exhale...

fireballs.

Enormous fireballs of various artistic patterns and colors were painted on the sky of pitch black, etching a curvy half of a whole symmetrical image on the body of water underneath it.

Projected into the sky were a series of rings, zodiac symbols, and even images of nature. The entirety of the splash of colors outshone the stars brightly shining amidst the peaceful heavens.

Slowly, Sakura lifted her chin up as her emerald eyes grasped the timeless view above her.

Slowly, her legs helped themselves up as she allowed the weight of admiration to drop her jaw down.

Little did the kunoichi know that while she was busy being enveloped by the beauty of the fireballs, the Uchiha was, too, busy being wrapped by a strong feeling of admiration for the girl who was so passionate and happy at the bright and colorful sight. She thought that the fireballs were pretty, but he thought that the beholder was more beautiful.

Shisui then faced her. "I'm sorry for leaving you behind. I know this isn't enough to make up for the firew-"

All of a sudden, Sakura briskly walked towards him with narrowed eyes and clenched fists. Shisui then closed his eyes, knowing full well that he deserved a chakra-powered uppercut for using his chakra just now, right even after his recovery.

One second.

 _She's close._

Two seconds.

 _Here she goes._

Three seconds.

A soft and slightly wet texture brushed against his cheek for a few seconds, leaving his face madly heating up to a boil.

Haruno Sakura had just planted a kiss on Uchiha Shisui's cheek.

* * *

 **Hola! How's that for a date? Let me know what you guys think.**

 **I'm almost finished with the next chapter hihihihi. Btw, I plan to make 20 chapters or so.**

 **Favorite, follow, and review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

 **HELLO I AM SO SORRY FOR BREAKING MY PROMISES I GOT REALLY BUSY EVEN THOUGH IT WAS SUMMER HUHUHUHU. Plus, I WAS ALREADY FINISHED WITH CHAPTER 10 WEEKS BEFORE BUT THEN I NOTICED THAT THE FILE WAS DELETED AGH. But to make up for that, I'm finishing Chapter 11 already and I hope that makes things better. Also, I made a mistake about Itachi's and Shisui's ages. But let us settle with the two of them being 21 years old.**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **How can I own Naruto when I can't even own a heart?**

* * *

Haruno Sakura had always regarded herself as that teammate who was desperately holding onto a thin ray of hope just so she wouldn't be swept beyond the outskirts.

Back when they were genins, she had no special techniques or moves to show off. She wasn't a jinchuuriki or an extremely ambitious person like Naruto, nor was she a naturally skilled shinobi like Sasuke. Moreover, she wasn't as talented as Sai.

Before, she used to blame everything on the fact that her clan was nothing out of the ordinary. Basically, her clan was among those families who lived simple lives despite having the ability to convert chakra into ninjutsu or genjutsu. In other words, her clan had no _kekkei genkai_ , or an advanced bloodline limit.

In their early years, she was that helpless teammate who was always being rescued by the others. She wasn't fast enough to dodge attacks, nor did she contain enormous loads of chakra to fuel herself up. Back then, whenever an army of attacks was sent to their team by an opponent, the only reason why she managed to survive was that her sensei and even Naruto would carry her away from the danger zone.

However, all those years of being the weakest and most useless one were now left behind. After all, she had entered an area of expertise no man in her team could come close to. Because of her accuracy and precision in controlling chakra, she now saves countless lives, earning her well-deserved rank in the field. Because she has also unlocked the Byakugou Seal, she even surpasses her senpai, Shizune.

She was also commended for her skills in taijutsu, as she had improved over the past few years. She was a lot faster, careful, and of course, stronger. Renowned for her brute strength, she was feared and respected by many.

Kakashi would sometimes think that she could surpass her shishou, as she also had the potential in genjutsu.

Sakura had finally earned her well-deserved recognition.

And at the moment, the pinkette was standing in the middle of the huge and tall gates of Konoha. Her shishou, Tsunade, told her that they would return at this very hour.

Tapping her right foot, she alerted her senses for any signs of familiar chakra signatures that were heading towards the gates.

After a few minutes of keeping herself composed under the layer of heat brought by the glaring sun, Sakura was finally informed by her instincts that there were indeed some chakra signatures nearing the gates.

Narrowing her eyes, she bent down to eye the incoming people clearly. The first thing she saw was a bright yellow man in a black and orange jumpsuit waving at her. The first thing that greeted her was a loud and high-pitched voice, "Sakura-chan! It has been so long, dattebayo!"

* * *

"Agh! I'm so hungry! Hurry up, old man!" Naruto exclaimed while wrapping his hands around his belly that was covered by his dirty, tattered, and torn jumpsuit.

Sakura, who was standing at his right side, pinched his cheek irritably. "Naruto! Will you stop moving?!"

The blonde scratched his head as he grinned sheepishly before lowering his arms down so that his teammate could treat the wounds on his arms.

After healing his arms from all the scratches, Sakura moved onto Sasuke, who had a long and thin one on his left cheek.

"So, how was your mission?" she asked the three while applying green chakra on the Uchiha's face. Only Sasuke, Sai, and Naruto were present for their gathering at Ichiraku's Ramen stand. Their sensei was out on an urgent mission.

"You should have seen how I beat the crap out of those stupid brats!" the jinchuuriki yelled enthusiastically while clenching his right fists in the air.

"You almost got fully seduced by that girl, Dickless," Sai said with a face washed out of emotions.

Naruto attempted to strangle the pale ninja but it was easy enough for the Root nin to dodge his still recovering arms.

Sakura's green eyes gleamed at what Sai said, interested at the thought of Naruto, a prankster who typically seduces adult men, being the victim.

"Oh? What specifically happened, Sai?!" she said while smiling, careful not to disrupt the recovery of Sasuke's wound.

After letting her little secret slip out of her clumsiness to Shisui's knowledge, Sakura was now more careful than ever not to give Sasuke any idea of her feelings — hence, her composed behavior around him at the moment.

Presently, the Uchiha was wearing his usual stoic expression, listening to the threesome's conversation yet not showing the slightest interest in joining them.

Naruto's cheeks heated at the thought of what had happened to him during the mission. Pouting childishly, he said, "Never mind that! What about you, Sakura-chan? Did you miss us? You were lonely, right? Ehe."

Before Sakura could shut his big mouth, Ayame, the old man's daughter and helper, answered his question for him while serving the team their tray of hot and pleasantly smelling ramen, "Oh, Sakura-chan being lonely? Oh, no. Not at all."

Before Sakura could register what the lady was saying, Ayame continued, "She had a date here with her boyfriend a few nights ago. Agh!"

Sakura did not know what the hell she was blabbering about.

But even so, the brunette resumed, "You're lucky, Sakura-chan! Your man's a looker! Black hair, black eyes, and even black clothes!" She then sighed while cupping her cheeks dreamily.

Naruto's blue eyes widened in shock.

Sai's already parted lips parted even more.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows before closing his eyes.

In an instant, an image of an extremely obnoxious Uchiha was projected inside Sakura's mind. In the next second, the thought of what happened in their festival date last night burned into the walls of her mind.

She had kissed his cheek.

The pinkette's cheeks reddened at the memory.

Little did she know that her teammates had turned to her and witnessed a lady who was blushing over the thought of her so-called "boyfriend".

"Sakura-chan! Is this true?! Who is he?!" Naruto stood up, shocked and frustrated at the same time. It came to her as no surprise. After all, her team comprised of overprotective men.

"Eh? You must be mistaken, Ayame-san," she said while smiling awkwardly with closed eyes and shaking her right hand in the air quite violently.

Sakura decided to focus her attention on Sasuke's wound, finishing it in a matter of seconds.

Her eyes skidded to Sasuke's onyx ones.

And shannaro, she swore his eyes flashed a dangerous glint.

As beads of sweat rolled down the sides of the Haruno's face, she fished out a sum of money and placed the coins on the table. "Ah! I'm so sorry, guys, but I just remembered that I still have an errand to do in the hospital."

After giving a curt wave of her hand, she excused herself and left the stand, abandoning a shocked Naruto, a surprised Sai, and a... Sasuke.

She most definitely didn't want her team to know anything about her relationship with Shisui. Silently hoping that she could still trust her pig of a best friend, she pondered the label of the Uchiha and her relationship.

They were more than just acquaintances. And it was extremely weird to classify them as friends. Before her mind could even advance onto the next possible "base", she shook her head violently and continued walking briskly towards the village hospital.

"Sakura."

The rosette's legs slowed to a stop, as did her churning wheel of thoughts. The depth of the voice that pronounced every syllable of her name raised every hair on her body. A bead of sweat rolled down her face from her right temple. Ever so slowly, she turned around to see tha man who called her.

Uchiha Sasuke stood with both hands inside his pockets. His face wore its usual calm expression.

"I'll walk with you," he said.

* * *

Konoha rained its own peaceful atmosphere, bathing the village with fresh winds and pleasant sources of light.

At the moment, silences fell upon Sakura and Sasuke, who were walking towards the hospital. It seemed like neither of them had planned on disrupting the peaceful atmosphere anytime soon.

In all honesty, Sakura didn't expect him to ask her out for a walk. It was just very unlikely of him, especially after what had happened at the ramen stand. It was, to put it simply, _awkward_.

Her emerald eyes secretly glanced at the man who was walking at her right side. Sasuke was looking ahead in front of him, with onyx eyes unmoving — onyx eyes that reminded her of someone else.

 _Quit it!_

Sakura shook her head violently, shutting out the sources that projected Shisui's image in her mind.

Noticing her odd behavior, Sasuke chose to be silent about it. That was, until, Sakura's shaking was much more violent than ever.

"Is it true?" he questioned her, wearing a mask of indifference.

Upon hearing his question, the pinkette composed herself, tucking a tress of hair beneath her left ear.

She then faced him with only a little amount of confidence. It was both a yes and no. While it's true that Shisui treated her ramen nights ago, they weren't dating at all. Oh, wait. They _did_ date last night. But, does that even count as dating? It was a blackmail of some sort. Plus, she wasn't even his girlfriend.

Realizing that it had taken her a minute to contemplate, Sakura turned to him and answered, "No, it's not."

"Then who did you go out with?" he responded almost in an instant.

Even Inner Sakura was taken aback by the Uchiha's curiosity. Wait, was he actually curious? She wasn't so certain about the reason behind his unusual behavior nor was she happy about his efforts in getting to know more about her life. Or basically prying.

Well, of course, it was something she didn't want anyone to have knowledge about. Unfortunately, Ino had already known.

Sasuke was definitely expecting a name.

A name that matched Ayame's description: black hair, black eyes, and black clothes.

The first one that popped into her mind was her teammate from ANBU Root, Sai. But alas, it was not at all possible. Sai could not have shadow cloned his way to join their mission with Sasuke. Her pig of a best friend would kill her if she knew that they were dating.

The second one, well, had black eyes and hair. However, his outfit was way too flashy for her type, let alone be all-black. After all, Rock Lee was a lover of tight green spandexes, something she had learnt to tolerate.

The third person matched the description pretty well, seeing as he had spiky black hair, dead black eyes, and the occasional black street clothes. Everything went well for the Haruno until it occurred to her that she could cause inconveniences for Shikamaru, and maybe even his girlfriend from Suna.

And so Sakura was left with the option to be stupid.

"Maybe Ayame-san thought it was me, but it really wasn't. It may seem like I'm the only girl with pink hair in this village, but that's not at all true," she explained with a convincing facade.

And while Sakura may have her own little stupid moments, Sasuke had none.

He squinted his eyes a little due to the sun's rays burning into his sable eyes. Sakura gulped, hoping that he was pretty convinced, even though it had taken her a few minutes to respond.

"Are your feelings still the same?" Sasuke asked.

Utterly, the question made the kunoichi inwardly choke on a nonexistent bowl of ramen. Really, what was he getting at?

As she pondered for the answer, streaks of crimson were drawn on her cheeks. She had no idea why he was so interested, especially about her love life.

It took a heavy load of guts for the pink-haired kunoichi's 13-year-old self to confess to him about her feelings. For some inexplicable reason, it was not as hard as before now. Nonetheless, all the weight was owned by her feelings of pure surprise.

She took a deep breath and turned to look him in the eyes before saying, "Yeah."

Sakura didn't need blood red eyes with circling commas to catch the split-second moment wherein the Uchiha's eyes widened a little over her response.

What was he so surprised about?

Looking down at the ground, Sasuke blinked a few times before lifting his chin up to eye her.

He parted his lips to reply, but before words could even leave his tongue, two tall shinobis appeared before them.

Onyx eyes and hair.

Sakura was startled to see Uchiha Itachi and Shisui, who had teleported their way to their spot. Her eyes laid glances on Sasuke's own to check up on him. And very much to her surprise, his eyes hinted a mild pinch of irritation.

Shifting from her position awkwardly, the pinkette licked her lips and bit the lower part. Instinctively, she peeked at Shisui from the corner of her eyes.

Their eyes met for a second.

In an instant, she averted her gaze and decided to make the three Uchihas think that her polished toenails were worth praising. She didn't want them to know just how flustered she was from last night's date.

But something was bugging her. She could not understand why the eyes she had met just now were dead and even in some ways... cold.

With the jitters in her mind, little did she know that to Itachi, she was as easy as an open book. The 21-year-old prodigy wondered what on earth could have happened between the two in his absence. The aura around them was odd, and he couldn't help but derive from the contemplation the possibility that a development was formed from their little hospital moment weeks ago.

Interrupting their train of thoughts, Sasuke questioned impatiently, "What do you want?"

Itachi effortlessly blinked his curiosity away. "Otou-san told me to call you."

Grunting under his breath, Sasuke shifted his gaze to Sakura expectantly, with a little amount of worry in his eyes over the abruptness of their conversation.

She gave him a look of reassurance, which cleared the very small bits that wrapped his existent conscience.

After a poof of smoke replaced his spot, everything became awfully quiet. While it was evident that silence had fallen upon the threesome, Sakura couldn't help but selfishly believe that Shisui was the reason for the awkwardness.

He was silent.

To the point of being cold.

For Kami's sake, she had been trying to get his attention that was nowhere near her unnoticeable efforts. However, it seemed that he was... ignoring her.

 _What did I do?_

For the record, their last interaction was an exchange of farewells after Sakura had insisted on walking him to his house last night.

Was he that annoyed by the... other interaction?

That much?

A pang of pain groped her chest and the pinkette couldn't understand why. She decided that it did really hurt to be ignored by a... friend.

 _Who the hell does that guy think he is? Shannaro, I don't care._

Meanwhile, Itachi was carefully observing the two again. He could sense that Shisui was well aware of the fact that he could read other people's minds easily the way he can. However, Itachi was certain that his cousin was trying his best to conceal his irritation over whatever was bothering him. What with his dead expression and all.

"I need to go to the Hokage's tower. I'll be taking my leave, Itachi-kun and uh, Shisui- _san_ ," Sakura voiced out as she bowed in respect.

Itachi nodded, replying, "Take care, Sakura."

Sakura made a little effort to turn to the other Uchiha, expecting even a little grunt from him. Anything at all!

But Uchiha Shisui's onyx eyes were wandering off somewhere else.

* * *

 **Jealous Shisui is sexy. Yall agree? Yes? Yes?**

 **Well then, more jealous Shisui in the next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:**

 **Amazing! I updated a day later! Is this manna from heaven?**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **I can't own Naruto, mehn. I'm still 16 years old.**

* * *

"State your purpose," Tsunade said with a heavy load of authority in her voice. While the pink-haired kunoichi had been training as her apprentice for years, it was still a little difficult for her to get used to her shishou's ill temper.

Instead of smiling nervously, she kept a stern face and composed herself to appear professional. "Hai, I want to know if there are any updates on the availability of the missions requested by the Yamanaka Clan, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade's squinted eyes widened to their normal diameter as she played with her polished nails. She knew about her apprentice's purpose. She knew that she just wanted to help out some shinobi. However, she was absolutely not certain about her relationship with the man involved.

"What kind of extract do you need?" she asked, surprising Sakura a little due to the extent of her knowledge.

She bit her lip and wondered if she had also made it obvious that the amount of dedication to the plan was a little too... unusual. After all, the pinkette had been visiting the Hokage's office and asking her shishou or sometimes Shizune if there were any missions requested by the Yamanaka clan. Unfortunately, their responses disappointed her every time.

The blonde ran her fingers through the ends of her pigtails, noticing her subordinate's odd behavior. Did she have some sort of romantic relationship with that Uchiha? She had been going to her office every single day.

Tsunade smirked as she arranged the stack of papers on her desk, saying, "There is one coming up. The files and its cases are still being processed though."

As soon as the news was delivered to her, Sakura's green eyes lit up as if hope had taken over her anxieties.

The Godaime resumed, "You can come back tonight."

Finally, results were coming to the pink-haired medic on their own.

* * *

Sakura hummed to herself as soon as she exited the Hokage's tower, finally relieved that her hands were already near the vials. Her instincts told her that the mission was going to be A-rank, or possibly S-rank. No matter what the circumstances are, she was more than strong-willed to take it. Ever since her desire to become a stronger kunoichi, this goal was the one she most sought after.

Sighing, the image of Team 7 popped into her mind. She was worried that because of her goal-orientation, it would be likely for her to neglect other priorities. She hadn't even visited her parents for a really long while now.

Because of her unexpected farewell from their lunch date, Naruto organized a dinner date for them still at Ichiraku's Ramen. It was about time for the reunion. And it was about time for her to craft a believable excuse and story in response to their future questions about her so-called boyfriend.

Her legs sauntered through the dark sidewalk as her mind dealt with possible arguments with her team. Looking up from her feet, she noticed a familiar figure walking towards her direction from the distance.

And of course, in the most unexpected encounters, it happened to be a man with black hair, eyes, and clothes.

Uchiha Shisui.

The two were walking on the same sidewalk, each facing the other's direction. The prodigy walked lifelessly, as if time ran slowly for him. Sakura then came to a realization: it was the first time in a while for her to encounter him without him using teleportation techniques.

As the two were nearing each other, her legs slowed to a stop and her eyes followed his eyes that were focused on the ground.

He then lifted up his face as the two were only a few meters away from each other.

Sakura remained in her spot only to be passed by Shisui without a glance.

A wave of coldness flooded the kunoichi's heart. Her troubled mind could not understand the recent events' nature. Could he have despised her for kissing him in the cheek? Could he have decided to avoid her because he knew that she had diagnosed him last night? Could he have settled with the decision to stay away from her because he didn't want to be healed?

She couldn't understand no matter how hard she tried. Her mind was malfunctioning at the moment. Presently, what was bothering her the most was how she had reacted to his cold acts.

She was irritated. She was angry. She was sad.

In other words, she was frustrated.

Sakura didn't dare to turn around, face him, and call him out. She had her pride to treasure. Besides, they weren't, at the very least, friends.

As soon as she reached the ramen stand, Team 7 was already there, waiting for her.

Naruto's and Sai's faces were wearing expressions that showed that they were not only expecting her, but expecting something from her. On the other hand, Sasuke was busy eating his ramen.

As Sakura sat down on the seat between Naruto and Sasuke, she spoke, "I'm sorry for leaving abruptly earlier."

Slurping his noodles without a care in the world, the Uzumaki grinned at his female teammate, saying, "It's okay, Sakura-chan. You're here now. Why don't you order?"

Frowning in disgust, she complained, "Naruto, don't talk with your mouth full."

With some noodles in his mouth, he replied, "But it's only half-full!"

Sai tilted his head and closed his eyes to form a fake smile, saying, "You shouldn't expect good manners from an idiot, Ugly."

Both Naruto and Sakura grunted irritably at the pale-haired nin's comment. After all, the pinkette still hated the nickname even though they were already close with one another.

And Sasuke, being the Uchiha that he is, replied, "Hn."

Remembering their conversation earlier, Sakura decided to relieve herself of embarrassment by ordering.

Naruto may be viewed as stupid by many people, but he was the type to catch odd auras. This time, he noticed that there was an unusual mood between his two original teammates.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura more often than usual and the latter was trying to pale her reddened cheeks secretly. "Secretly".

"Sakura-san, it has been a while!"

The four turned around to the source of the loud and vexing voice, not at all that surprised to find that it came from a man with bowl-cut hair and tight green spandex.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him irritably, saying, "Bushy Brows, shouldn't you be telling _us_ that?"

Kneeling down with gesticulations that were quite hard to catch, Rock Lee proclaimed, "Sakura-san is my muse! It is important that I treasure her."

Sakura smiled at him nervously. "Lee-san, it has been a while, huh?"

A bark followed her statement, a bark that came from a large white dog that was accompanied by a tall brunette who reeked of fur as well.

Kiba greeted them, "Yo, it's been a while since I've seen you, guys." Akamaru barked in agreement.

While chewing the noodles in his mouth, Naruto exclaimed, "Why are you all so nostalgic?!"

Ignoring the Jinchuuriki, Rock Lee turned to Sasuke, "I declare war over Sakura-san's heart. I won't lose to you, Sasuke-kun!"

With little effort, the Uchiha returned a grunt.

A spark of light lit up in the Inuzuka's sharp eyes, one that made it seem like the Uchiha was hiding something... fishy and... kinky.

"Two missions in a month, eh, Sasuke?" Kiba commented grinningly.

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, replying irritably, "What do you mean?"

Their conversation pulled Naruto, Sakura, and even Sai into the circle of curiosity. They had no idea what the hell the dog-master was babbling about.

Glancing at Sakura, Kiba responded with a slier grin, revealing a sharp fang, "You returned alone weeks ago, right? Then you joined Naruto, Sai, and Itachi afterwards."

Glaring at him, he questioned impatiently, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sai was still quiet, but Naruto was the opposite. "Oi, Kiba! You should stop eating those pills. You're turning mad. Sasuke came with us from day one."

The brunette yelled, "Shut up, you idiot! I'm not turning mad!"

Akamaru barked twice at him as well.

The dog master turned to Sakura, wanting an answer, leaving her utterly confused and frustrated as well. "Didn't he have a mission before you visited his house?"

"What?" Sasuke demanded with a thinner line of patience left.

Then realization hit Sakura.

About a week ago, Sakura slept in Shisui's house because she had blacked out the night before when it had rained. The following morning, she was left to wear his clothes that had their clan's crest embroidered at the back (forgetting even her clothes). And then she met Rock Lee and Kiba, both of which thought that she had just come from Sasuke's house in his clothes.

Sakura's emerald eyes widened and anxiety came to attack even her inner demon. She most definitely didn't want Sasuke and her teammates to know that she had slept in Shisui's house. Damn, just what kind of beautiful day did she have?! Did Ichiraku's Ramen carry some sort of bad luck for women with flashing pink hair?!

Kiba chuckled and raised his eyebrows repeatedly while eyeing Sakura knowingly, saying, "Sasuke's very lucky." He turned to him and continued, "You're the first one to experience 'it' in our age group."

He eyed her again with a knowing look that said "Right, Sakura?"

The Haruno stood up and threw an arm around Kiba while giving him a murderous smile, "Lying isn't nice, Kiba."

Her eyes skidded from a nervous Kiba to her Uchiha teammate, who, she swore to Kami, flashed a dangerous glint in his eyes for a split-second.

And things weren't getting any better.

"Sasuke-kun, even if you and my Sakura-san have done 'it' together, you must still consider me as your rival!" Rock Lee exclaimed while pointing an index finger at him.

Sakura knew that Sasuke wasn't stupid. She knew that by now, he had already known that it was connected to what Ayame had said earlier. The only option left for her to choose was to convince her team by denying.

"An Uchiha..." Sakura heard Sasuke mutter under his breath.

Anxiety groped her chest and nervousness masked her face. Her head ached with all the happenings that easily knocked down her efforts in concealing her connection with Shisui. She didn't want her teammates to know, and she most definitely didn't want to risk her chances with Sasuke!

All of a sudden, Sai stood up and said with a fake smile, taking everyone by surprise, "We don't need stupid people and rumors to ruin our appetites."

* * *

Haruno Sakura couldn't believe it.

Why did she have to deal with such an awful day? Rumor here, rumor there. She does not have a boyfriend and she most definitely is still a virgin!

Rubbing her temples, she sighed to herself as she walked towards the Hokage's tower under the night sky.

The kunoichi was left to only sigh over her awful day until she arrived at her shishou's office. She entered after knocking the door, knowing full well that Tsunade knew of her intentions.

"Good evening, Tsunade-shishou," she greeted.

The blonde woman nodded upon her entrance and took out a folder from her stack of files. Most of the time, she was direct and straightforward when it came to mission briefings. However, this time, she was more direct than ever. _Maybe she's really tired. It's evening for Kami's sake_ , Sakura thought.

"The Yamanaka Clan requested for an A-rank mission. It's a dyad mission so you are to work with another jounin," she stated while yawning.

Sakura kept herself composed. "Who's my partner, shishou?"

Tsunade rubbed her eyes and blinked several times before entertaining her question, "Originally, I thought on assigning Rock Lee or Kiba, because they're the only ones who're free at the moment. Naruto and the others are still recovering from their last mission too."

 _Darn right, Rock Lee and Kiba are too free for their own good_ , Inner Sakura complained.

The Godaime continued, "But someone personally came to me earlier and requested for a mission. And since I know what your purpose is, I had him assigned as your partner. It might be useful for you. After all, you'll be his medic all the way."

Tsunade's worn out expression softened as Sakura's emerald eyes widened in utter shock and surprise.

"Shizune is still calling him," the old woman said.

Sakura's thin lips parted and wondered if she should be thankful or worried that _he_ was her partner. Her chest was wrapped up with different kinds of feelings. She was relieved to be given such a chance to diagnose him some more, annoyed that they wouldn't get along due to his cold treatment, and... a little happy because _he_ was her partner. And the reason for the latter was inexplicable.

A knock was heard from over the door and so Sakura turned around to see Shizune enter with Tonton and...

Uchiha Shisui.

* * *

"Sakura-chan, you didn't tell us that you had a mission," Naruto said while pouting his lips.

Sakura tilted her head to the right and smiled at her clingy teammate. She then patted his shoulder, cheering him up, "I'm sorry, Naruto. I was informed just last night."

He stomped his right foot on the ground childishly and protested, "But we jut got here!"

Team 7 minus Kakashi was standing by the gates of Konoha, the men present to see their female teammate off. At the same time, Uchiha Shisui was leaning against the left wooden gate to wait for his partner, although his eyes were wandering off somewhere.

Sakura gave her male best friend an apologetic smile once again. What could she do? She couldn't pass up the chance. It was something important to her. A precious goal.

Sighing, she responded, "I promise to make it up to you, guys, when I come back."

That definitely made the kyuubi vessel grin.

But it sure did made Sakura feel guilty.

She wasn't so certain about how long it would take for her to come home. She and Shisui were assigned an A-rank mission to assassinate an illegal doctor who had stolen the secret scroll of forbidden techniques by the Yamanaka Clan and retrieve the aforementioned scroll. According to her shishou, the man was located at a town in the West. Moreover, according to the elders of the clan, the man had been using the scroll to abduct young women for human experimentation.

Her shishou told her that it could take her a month or two before she could come back. After all, the town was very far from Fire Country. They would have to travel by foot to the country's wharf for 3 days or so. Then, they would have to travel to the land by boat for another 3 days.

And Sakura wasn't even sure how she could bear with such, considering the fact that her partner was still very much ignoring her.

"Sakura," Sasuke pulled her out from her train of thoughts.

Naruto and Sai backed a few meters away from the two, giving them their much needed privacy. They both had a feeling that there was something going on between them lately, different from the old flirt-and-push-away kind of relationship back when they were genins.

Sakura childishly blushed at the sound of her name being called by his voice. She looked at her shinobi sandals as the Uchiha stood in front of her.

Sasuke wore his usual stoic expression. After clearing his throat, he said, "I have a question."

Upon hearing his request, the kunoichi gulped hard. After all, Sasuke had been asking too many questions that flustered her to death. "What is it, Sasuke-kun?"

He blinked several times before responding, "What exactly did Kiba mean?"

Inner Sakura choked on her nonexistent ramen.

 _Not this day too!_

However, things were different today. Due to the mission assignment, fortunately, her mind was focused on devising strategies to successfully grasp an exact picture of what Shisui's body needs.

And so, fortunately, she was not so troubled nor was she guilty of being dishonest.

"Eh, we had a game of truth or dare weeks ago and it ended up with that kind of rumor being spread," she turned to him.

A (very) little smile made its way on Sasuke's lips upon hearing her tale. Sakura had no idea if her act was convincing enough. But right now, she didn't want to think about it or else her behavior could give away her thoughts.

"Thank you for the food pills," he said.

Before Sakura could look into his eyes, Sasuke poked her forehead with two fingers in one hand, leaving the pinkette's cheeks to madly heat up to a boil.

"Take care," he said.

Sakura was taken aback by his small act. And that was an understatement.

While rubbing her forehead, all she could think about was the possible reason behind the change in his attitude towards her. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. The gesture just left her gaping like an idiot.

"Excuse me, but time's running," Shisui said all of a sudden as he teleported his way to the two of them, surprising the kunoichi even more over his decision to finally _not_ ignore her.

His tone was still at its coldest and his eyes at its deadest. He appeared right in between the two teammates and wore an indifferent expression.

"Ah, yes," the kunoichi said nervously as she eyed the two. Their presences together created some sort of frightening aura that she couldn't describe. All she knew was that it was just so... Uchiha.

Sasuke glared at the taller Uchiha for ruining their moment but Uchiha Shisui showed that he could care less.

After waving goodbye at her team, Sakura finally joined her partner as they ran together into the forests.

* * *

 **If you thought that I was going to make Sasuke and Sakura enter into a romantic relationship, then you were most definitely wrong. I hate cliches and I'm scared that this might turn into one, considering that there are some predictable events. But I promise to do my best! Will update next week maybe! I'm going to Hong Kong this week hehehe.**

 **Who else likes Bruno Mars? BECAUSE I LOVE HIM. I attended his concert last month and got to watch him in the fucking front row like right in front of the stage AGHHHH I MISS HIM.**

 **Also, I'm kinda worried about my writing style. It's definitely different and easier to use, but it's more direct or straightforward. The imagery is all lost agh. Anyway, I want to thank those who reviewed and reviewed throughout the chapters. I'm really grateful! You make me happy huhuhu.**

 **Favorite, follow, and review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:**

 **Hello! I am so very sorry for the so very late update. I have been very busy in school and I wish for you to understand that huhu. But know that inspiration's already kicking in and so I'm going to write more these days! KEEP IN MIND THAT I WILL COMPLETE THIS STORY! I love you all so much huhu thank you for the positive reviews!**

 **Anyways, I'm already working on the next chapter. This one's heavier on action.**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **Man is not truly free. He is chained by his historicity and structures. If this is so, then is it possible for me to own Naruto?**

* * *

The sound of the leaves rustling along the wind that greeted Sakura's face calmed her nerves, despite how she was jumping from tree to tree at the moment under the noon sky.

Seven hours.

Uchiha Shisui and Haruno Sakura had been traveling in the forests for seven hours. Straight.

They did take a 5-minute water break two hours ago but that was pretty much the only period so far that was close to heaven for Sakura.

No conclusion nor idea dug into the walls of her brain as to why the team captain was so adamant about getting there in a day, to the point of neglecting their conditions and the possibility of energy depletion.

She wondered if it was a product of some harsh training he had undergone in the ANBU. Nonetheless, even if that was the case, it didn't qualify as an excuse to drag her along to his standards. More importantly, he was sick and therefore, his health must not be at the bottom of his priorities.

But even if he was sick, Shisui was still _so damn fast_.

As Sakura's right foot landed on another thick and sturdy branch, her legs halted as she paused to inhale huge amounts of oxygen.

Noticing the unmoving chakra signature from behind, Shisui ended his unnoticeable tracks on the branch that was positioned at several meters ahead of hers.

"I-I can't... keep up," the kunoichi panted in heavy breaths as she rested her elbow on the connected trunk to balance her shaky body.

Shisui turned to her and just eyed her with an indifferent expression. Sakura knew that he knew better than to force things to do the impossible, especially if it sacrificed a lot of important factors.

Sakura let in a mass of air and coughed while removing the cap of her water bottle. Her stomach grumbled softly for the tenth time and she wished that she had eaten an early lunch before they took off for the mission this morning. For Kami's sake, it was about 4 in the afternoon.

Shisui suggested in a dead tone, "Build a fire and I'll hunt for food." The words that left his seemingly unmoving lips came to the Haruno as a surprise, regardless of the tone he used. It was still an offer to show her that he was still concerned about her condition. Or maybe it was to ensure the chances of having a more successful and fruitful mission. Either way, it still lifted up the corners of her lips (inwardly).

Realizing something, she immediately waved her hand in the air in disagreement with much franticness. "Ah, it's okay. I have my packed lunch."

The Uchiha nodded and turned his back on her, about to drop himself from the branch. Then it hit Sakura's slowing brain: he was going to look for his own food.

"Shisui!" she called him with no amount of hesitation or time for further contemplation.

He turned his head to the left to view her through the corner of his eye, expecting her to answer in an instant and directly to the point.

Only then had it been clear to Sakura that the tension of the situation was significantly high in amount. He was still ignoring her as much as possible and even in the coldest ways. And she didn't even know why the hell he was acting like that in her presence. However, the current situation's awkwardness failed to hinder her will from talking to him.

She looked down nervously, replying in a shaky voice, "I, um... m-made one for you too."

She closed her eyes in fear of whatever his reaction might be, dreading the chances of facing an apathetic man in front of her. To her, she was reluctant to see a different Shisui, one that wasn't loud nor playful. It was too _different_ for her to handle.

Slowly, Sakura raised her eyelids to look at him, and what she saw made her part her lips open.

Shisui looked as if he was frustrated and regretful, his eyebrows furrowed and his onyx eyes laid on her feet. It was the first time for her to see him in that way and it looked like he had been... _hurt_.

He leaped his way through her position with a mask of indifference. As soon as he had landed on her branch, two arms wrapped her petite body, enveloping her upper half. His chest pressed hard against hers and the touch of his hands on her revealed shoulders sent shivers snaking down her spine, leaving her dumbfounded by the simple act.

That was, until, he jumped down from the branch, carrying the two of them down to the ground.

Sakura's mind was littered with innumerable questions about the act he had just done. However, by the time she'd heard an army of kunais stabbing the branch she had just perched on, all those confusions were dissolved into clarity.

"Bandits," Shisui whispered into her ear, raising every strand of hair in her body. Although the hug was done to protect her from chakra signatures she couldn't sense, the two were still standing on the ground with the same position and quite frankly, it made her feel anxious and flustered. Not at all prepared for battle.

He released her, allowing the kunoichi to almost lose her balance. Sakura mentally slapped herself to focus, readying herself for combat.

"How many?" she asked.

The Uchiha smoothly fished out a kunai from his pouch, replying, "Four. I'll go up and stop them."

Even though the fact that he was one of the best in ANBU had long been established in Konoha and her mind, surprise still tickled her brain into shock, making her think that he was a _little_ crazy.

"I'm going to fight too!" she protested with eyebrows knitted.

The Uchiha looked up and responded, "I know, but you're running out of chakra from all that travelling."

 _And that was because of you!_ Inner Sakura growled.

However, somewhere deep down, she couldn't help but think that he was just concerned for her condition. She herself was aware of her own limits. She wasn't gifted with massive loads of chakra just like Naruto. More importantly, her shishou had stressed to her countless times that the medic should be the last one to die. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to be of no use. She was going to treat Shisui's wounds (if the hell he'd have).

Just then, something led her train of thoughts to a different railway.

"How are you going to stop them?" she questioned anxiously. The Uchiha glanced at her and couldn't help but notice the worry filled in her eyes and tone.

"I'm not going to use my Sharingan," he replied curtly.

Before she could even respond, the prodigy teleported his way to the top. She narrowed her eyes, hearing gasps coming from unfamiliar voices. Silence swept throughout the area for a few minutes, leaving her the option to look around and sense some more signatures while masking her own. Fortunately, there were none.

Suddenly, a blurred image of black appeared right in front of her until its dimensions formed Shisui's shape realistically. He had teleported his way from the scene, and still with a clean attire at that.

"Knocked them all out. They should wake up after two days," he informed her.

Sakura couldn't help but be sucked into a pool of awe at his manifestation of skill and talent. He was definitely at ANBU level. Furthermore, he had the potential to be elected as Hokage.

She immediately felt useless. Little thoughts began to scratch the walls of her mind and she so very much abhorred it.

"Do you need me to heal you?" she asked.

Shisui turned his back on her, replying, "I'm clean. Let's head now. At the rate we were going at, we'll arrive there tomorrow noon."

Now, the kunoichi could understand why he was so firm with the idea of travelling at full speed. She honestly didn't think that they'd get there in a day, but they actually could.

However, while it was certainly a good idea to her because it saved them time, she wasn't so sure about arriving there in one piece. An hour later, she would be dangerously low on chakra and she could pass out at any time. Earlier, when they were jumping from tree to tree, she didn't know whether she was too slow to catch up with her partner or he was already slowing down for her to adjust. Either way, it was going to be hell for her to manage the trip.

While she was deep down in her pool of thoughts, Shisui was eyeing her closely. He then broke the silence, "Let's head now and stop somewhere to camp out. Eat by then."

Ever so slowly, she lifted her chin up to gaze at him with soft eyes, trying her hardest to understand why he was suddenly being kind to her. She knew that he had noticed that she didn't have a big stamina. She couldn't make out why there was a change in treatment nor could she even get why he was being so cold to her in the first place. Asking him all the questions in her mind was not at all an option for her.

Anyhow, it made her dislike the mission a little less.

* * *

"We'll camp out here," Shisui said as he prepared his own sleeping bag. The two jounins travelled around three miles beyond the area where the bandits had passed out. The spot he chose was hidden and not that noticeable, therefore safe for them to settle in.

"I'll build a fire," Sakura offered after preparing her own sleeping bag and gathering timbers.

"No need," he replied. The Uchiha then stepped back and blew a mass of fire into the pile of wood, startling her.

Afterwards, Shisui stood up and announced, "I'll take first watch."

"But... you haven't even eaten yet," Sakura protested with a significant amount of reluctance, clearly avoiding his eyes.

Shisui blinked a couple of times as if he was in deep contemplation. Gazing at her, he firmly spoke, "I'm not hungry."

As his back was turned onto her, Sakura felt a pang of pain shrouding her chest. No, it didn't make her sad for some inexplicable reason. Instead, it made her burst into boiling point.

She clenched her fists and planted her feet firmly on the ground, "Shisui!"

The prodigy turned around to face a woman with seething eyes. Sakura pulled out a paper bag from her backpack and then handed it to him.

"I made a packed lunch for you despite how you've been treating me," she said irritably as he accepted it lifelessly. "I don't know why you're being a douche, but at least let me know what I did. I-I..."

Sakura's voice faltered as she looked down at her feet. Unknowingly, she held her collar with her right hand, signalling the Uchiha just how uneasy she felt.

Reluctantly, she resumed, "I want to u-understand you."

There, she said it. She looked back at how she had decided that she wasn't going to pry and ask him questions. She didn't know what pushed her to voice out her feelings. Maybe it was because they were all bottled up inside of her that she couldn't anymore hold them all.

Much to her surprise, Shisui walked toward her and stopped a meter away from her spot, holding the packed lunch tightly. "I'm sorry. You didn't do anything. And..."

Sakura's eyes widened when the Uchiha crouched down a little and bent his knees so that their faces were aligned. "...thank you."

At the next second, a small smile crept into his lips, softening the kunoichi's face. However small it may be, it was still in a way _warm_.

Just then, his right hand reached for her left ear, gingerly tucking a loose strand beneath it, causing the Haruno's heart to madly race.

Realizing what he had just done, Shisui dropped his hand and averted his gaze to the trees. "Why don't we eat?" he suggested in an instant.

Sakura studied his face carefully and helplessly grinned at him, saying, "Kind now, aren't we?"

The prodigy ran a hand through his hair, messing it all up (quite sexily, Sakura admits). He bit his lip before replying, "Well, being like this flusters you, I suppose."

And it sure did.

That night, Sakura had a hard time trying to flush out the redness from her heating face.

* * *

Three awful days in hell. That pretty much summed up her trip to Tinland by boat.

The cabin reeked of alcohol and dead fish, and the wooden seats were pretty much old and brittle-looking for one to be able to feel comfortable relaxing for a span of three days. Ah, and the ride, the ride itself was enough to make the kunoichi sick. No, it didn't make her want to throw up. But it did make her want to throw herself out of the sea for having to bear with the awful smell of vomit from the kids and elders around her.

Shisui, on the other hand, had sat throughout the trip comfortably: sleeping, taking a nap, staying on guard, helping those in need of assistance, and secretly sharpening his tools.

Sakura just hoped that Tinland was worth the sickening experience.

Tinland was a small town from the West, almost located along the line of the prime meridian. According to what was taught in the Academy, it was occupied purely by civilians: there were no shinobis and people thought that ninjas were merely a myth. This was exactly the reason why Shisui and Sakura had to disguise themselves as civilians. Use of techniques — whether they were ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu — was strictly only allowed in extreme cases. So if they had to defend themselves, they had to fight the way civilians did.

Of course, even before Shisui and Sakura entered the ship, they had considered changing their clothes to blend within the townspeople. They had brought along with them a scroll that carried clothes, money, and other necessities. Sakura wore a dark red long-sleeved blouse, paired with white palazzo pants and brown sandals. On the other hand, Shisui wore a black coat over a white dress shirt, paired with black slacks and shoes. The two had taken off their forehead protectors to hide their status as ninjas.

Since Konoha was from Tinland, their names wouldn't easily give away their identities. They had decided that it was safe to use their names minus their surnames in registrations. While it would make little difference in Sakura's case, Shisui's last name was a tricky matter. The Uchihas were popular all over the East, but they were still known by some in the West.

As soon as the two had gotten off the plank between the ship and the bay, Sakura turned to his partner to ask about their plans, "Are we supposed to check in a hotel now?"

The two continued walking slowly on the ground. The kunoichi looked at Shisui's face for any sign that could represent a potential answer. It seemed that he was still in deep contemplation. It would be difficult for them to find a vacant room in hotels now since there were so many people, but it would be difficult as well to search for hotels at night while making sure they weren't using chakra. However, they were shinobis, which meant that it wouldn't be much of a challenge for them to look for a hotel without attracting much attention.

"Staying in a hotel would be too expensive, seeing as we will be staying here for a couple of weeks," the Uchiha finally spoke.

 _Ah, so he's more worried about that_ , Sakura thought in surprise. She replied, "So, what's the best option? Staying in a pension unit?"

"Yes. Let's start the search now."

"And the doctor?"

"We'll figure out a plan once we check in."

And so the two walked together around the streets of Tinland, admiring the old-fashioned way the town worked. There were a few towers, but most buildings reached only a 3-story height. Townspeople looked like they always wore their Sunday's best every single day, very far from the simple ways of Konoha citizens.

After thirty minutes or so, with the help of their sharpened senses, they found a small yet lovely pension house, one that was adorned with flowers of all colors in its parts. Fortunately, it was located in the middle of the town.

At first, Shisui and Sakura had troubles with registering, because the staff at the counter demanded a surname. Apparently, Konoha's information of Tinland was unchecked. Every single person in town had a last name.

Shisui, the quick-thinker, apologized to the woman at the counter, telling her that he and Sakura had just been married, and so it was a little bit awkward for them to use his last name. The woman at the counter just shrugged it off without much care, luckily. The made up last name was a little "Westernized", but it was not too awkward when combined to their given names. They went with "Rio".

And that was it. Rio Sakura and Rio Shisui had two missions: to assassinate the unlicensed doctor and to act like a married couple.

As soon as the "couple" entered their unit, they immediately settled down. Settling down for them was hiding their scrolls (a.k.a. luggages) in dark areas and casting a genjutsu on them to appear as bags to civilians.

The unit had one double bed, two sofas, a bathroom, and surprisingly, a small kitchen. Sakura thought that pension units didn't need kitchens, as pension houses already served meals for occupants in their dining areas.

Sakura propped herself on the bed, disappointed to feel a thin layer of foam beneath her. To sleep on a hard bed was not so much of a reward for people who travelled non-stop.

Of course, while Sakura had considered the fact that the mission meant nightly chances to sleep next to her partner in a bed, it was still too much for her to handle. Sure, she had slept with Shisui before in his house, but that was a one-time thing, and this was a one-month!

Slowly, the kunoichi turned her body to face Shisui, who was preparing a set of kunai in his pouch. The pouch was hidden inside his coat.

Sakura broke the silence, "I thought we're supposed to defend ourselves the way civilians do."

Shisui didn't bother to look at her as he continued to pack his weapons. He replied, "That means that you have to be smart enough to use your skillset in public. You're only supposed to defend yourself that way if you cause a scene that attracts too many eyes."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "So, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to get some information about the doctor in a bar. If he's an unlicensed doctor, this most likely means that he attracts patients by appearing professional, but actually uses illegal methods."

The kunoichi prepared her tools. "Why do we have to research in a bar?"

Shisui replied flatly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Because he abducts women for experiments. There are a lot of vulnerable women in bars."

Sakura tilted her head. It would be easy for her partner to blend within the crowd with what he was already wearing, but what she was wearing was a little too... conservative. She needed to adapt.

As a result, she took some clothes from her scroll and changed in the comfort room. As soon as she was done, she exited the area and continued preparing her tools in the living room.

Shisui, who was almost done readying himself, looked at her through the corner of his eyes. A few seconds later, he quit staring and finished his preparations.

But even he, the master of masking emotions, couldn't contain himself.

"What are you wearing?" he questioned.

Sakura turned to him, then checked her attire, and turned to him again, confused. "Why? Is it too noticeable?"

She was wearing a sleeveless v-neck blouse that almost showed her navel, paired with a pencil skirt that with a slit near the middle that revealed her inner thigh.

"We're just getting information for now. Are you planning on getting abducted?" he sharply said, much to the pinkette's surprise.

Here she was again, seen as a weak little girl.

"Well, I'm capable of defending myself. Also, I'm not stupid enough to not know our plan," she yelled.

The Uchiha just stared into her eyes, as if he was studying the fire in them, the fire that pushed her to break. Afterwards, he walked past through her and headed out, signalling her that it was not important.

 _For the sake of this damn mission_ , Inner Sakura said with rolling eyes. Sakura then followed him into the bar.

* * *

Tinland's bar was surprisingly big, and what was even more surprising was the fact that a lot of people wore revealing clothes, in contrast to the folks' conservative everyday clothes.

Satisfied with her decision in picking clothes, Sakura readied herself with a not so innocent attitude.

She and Shisui had planned to split and collect information on their own, as they were both capable and it would be much more efficient.

 _Now, where should I start?_ the pinkette thought to herself. She couldn't see Shisui anymore, and he was good at masking his chakra signature. She couldn't sit with people in their tables, but she might as well start at the dance floor and look for a friendly person.

And so she proceeded to the area. Loud music was playing, but it didn't bother her auditory processing. She was, after all, a trained kunoichi.

There were a lot more men in the dance floor than women. Some were looking at her, interested. Some simply looked at her hair. Most townsfolk had brown hair, which made her seem like an obvious outsider.

All of a sudden, a tall handsome man with blue eyes and chestnut brown hair approached her. He was wearing a white polo that had the upper area unbuttoned, revealing his chest. Inner Sakura screamed in delight.

"Is it your first time here in the bar?" he asked with a smile that showed a dimple on his right cheek.

"Yeah!" Sakura screamed over the loud music.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

The Haruno contemplated for a moment, wondering if it was better to make up a name or use her registered name. She was Sakura Rio in Tinland, and maybe it was better to have consistency. "Sakura. You?"

"Tom, nice to meet you," he said as he shook her hand. "You mind if we dance?"

Momentarily, the rosette blushed. No one — not even Rock Lee — had ever asked her to a dance. She figured that it would be okay, as she would get some information out of him later when they would get "comfortable".

The moment Sakura agreed, the party music gradually transitioned into slow dance music, which signaled everyone on the dance floor to grab a partner.

The pinkette shifted awkwardly, because she had just met the man and now, they were going to dance like a couple. Noticing her uneasiness, Tom smiled at her warmly. "Come on, it's just a dance."

Reluctantly, Sakura placed her right hand on his left shoulder and held his right hand with her left. When Tom positioned his left hand on her right waist, they slowly started dancing.

Admittedly, Sakura did find him charming. However, it went without saying that she didn't let her guard down. Tom could be connected to the doctor they were looking for, or worse, be the target himself. She couldn't just ask directly without establishing the foundations of a relationship.

After minutes of just dancing, Tom offered to buy the kunoichi a drink. And despite her attempts to say that she was fine and that she could buy on her own, the man insisted, led her to the bar station, and eventually bought her two drinks.

"I didn't know what you wanted, so I bought you a non-alcoholic drink and a strong one," Tom said.

 _Ah, the drinks_ , Sakura thought. She had handled numerous cases about people getting poisoned because of drinks, and she was most certainly not going to let herself be a victim.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't feel like drinking. Don't worry, I'll pay for the drinks," she said.

Tom didn't flinch, nor did it seem like he was bitter about it. He just smiled and nodded in understanding.

"I'd like water, please," Sakura requested as she caught the attention of the bartender. The bartender quickly served her a glass of water.

After drinking the glass, she turned to Tom, who was staring at her pink hair. "What? You've never seen a girl with flashing pink hair before?" she joked.

Tom chuckled and said, "That's not it, but I just don't think I've seen you in this town before."

Before Sakura could answer, she felt something odd inside her body. Her trained senses alerted her that a foreign chemical solution had invaded her system.

Countless beads of sweat rolled down her face, and her hands and legs trembled violently.

 _The glass of water_ , she thought in her head, frustrated at herself. The man had not expected her to refuse the drinks that had chemicals in them, but he had a backup: the glass of water.

 _But how?_

Sakura most definitely did not see him pour anything into the drinks. Perhaps, the bartender was an associate?

The kunoichi, still struggling to keep her balance, found herself losing control of her senses. She couldn't stand or perform a jutsu. She couldn't even think clearly.

Then, realization hit her. Tom was the man they were searching for.

"The water... you..." Sakura attempted to speak. She was desperate: it was as if she was way past tipsiness and already getting drunk.

She needed to alert Shisui. She needed to make a scene. Yet, her body was failing her. Minute by minute, she was becoming... vulnerable.

She turned to Tom and she felt something screaming inside her chest. Slowly, Sakura stroke his face with her gentle hands and slyly stared at his lips. For some odd reason, she wanted to know what they tasted like, and so she slowly moved her face closer to his.

* * *

Uchiha Shisui had always accomplished the tasks assigned to him.

He had already gathered enough information from some civilians. The doctor's name, clinic address, and physical features were all in his book. He had even recorded a brief history of his accomplishments in the field of medicine, most of which were obviously fake.

As he jostled his way through the dance floor, he noticed that some women were eyeing him knowingly. Yet, as any other Uchiha, he thought of them as thin air.

Now that Shisui was done with his part, he wondered how his partner was doing. Deep down, he felt guilty about how he had been treating her over the past few days. He had found himself warming up to her after the festival, especially upon realizing that she was determined to heal him.

Ever since, he could _not_ stop thinking about how she had planted a firm kiss on his cheek.

Yet, her warm nature had its downs as well. He liked how she was caring towards her teammates, but while he had long known about her feelings for a certain cousin, it irritated him how she had _looked away_ from him just like that, even if they had spent precious time together. It was downright annoying, and maybe a little painful.

Even though they had sort of made up, he still managed to give her a reason to hate him when he had made it seem to her that the idea of wearing clothes that would help her blend within the crowd was plain stupid. He didn't know why he hated it. Certainly, it wasn't because he hated it if she attracted too many people, but it was because he didn't want her to be in danger. Yes, she was a good fighter, but deep down, he wanted to be sure that she was safe at all times.

The Uchiha shrugged off his thoughts. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted at a moment like this. Even though he was technically done, he still had some time left before he would meet up with his partner. Maybe he could survey the area and know if any man could accurately match the physical description he had of the target doctor.

He narrowed his black eyes and silently examined the scene around him.

Over the bar station, the sight of a brown-haired man grabbed his attention. Maybe if he could look a little more closely, he could confirm if the person matched the details in his updated hit book.

Much to his surprise, the man resembled well the person whom the civilians had drawn out in his mind.

 _Chestnut brown hair, blue eyes, tall..._

And there was flashing pink hair.

He eyed the scene more closely to know whether his two suspicions were true or not: if the man he had seen was the doctor they were assigned to assassinate, and if the pink-haired woman he had seen was his partner.

Jitters littered his space of thoughts, as feelings of worry began to build up in his chest. If it was Sakura, there were so many probable cases to happen, most of which involved her getting caught up in danger. _Fuck_ , he thought.

Seconds after he scanned the scene, his narrowed eyes widened as he comprehended the situation before him.

His partner was making out with a damned criminal.

* * *

Minutes of kissing a man she barely knew made Sakura feel like she was in an unearthly place, where she could just kiss away the heat and tension her body was intensely feeling.

She didn't know what came into her, but she was more than happy with what had happened. Even if it had just been a few moments, it felt like she could just be a woman, a woman who could do anything she pleased.

Tom pulled away from the kiss, much to Sakura's disappointment. She wanted more, but she did love the fact that he had broken away just to tease her.

"Let's go to my house," the brunette suggested. At that moment, Sakura was readier than ever to throw herself on his bed and pull him under the sheets with her.

The man hit the back of her neck with his knuckles, knocking her out. He then roughly lifted her up, carrying her body over his right shoulder, with her bottom and back facing forward. It didn't attract too much attention, as there were lots of similar cases in the infamous bar.

Before leaving the area, he glanced at the bartender knowingly and left some tip at the counter.

Before Tom could exit through the door, his eyes glinted at the sight of a woman with golden hair, wearing clothes that were much more revealing than Sakura's. The woman, who looked like she was a little tipsy, was standing near the door with her back rested on the wall. She gave him a flirt's eye before looking away.

Truth be told, it caused a voluptuous mass of mixed hormonal reactions inside his body. Yet, he thought that it was taxing to approach her when he was carrying another woman. He couldn't just leave the pink-haired girl on the floor and let her go, for she could report any cases against him. Yet, the woman with golden hair seemed to have a richer treasure with her, with her jet black eyes and delightful measurements. And what made the situation better was that she was asking for it, whereas Sakura had refused his offers earlier.

After moments of contemplating, Tom laid down the pinkette at the other side of the door. He thought about calling the bartender to help him up, but that was a little too risky.

He felt that if he approached the lady while bringing another woman with him, it would ruin his chances. Despite how the fact that the unknown woman had been flirty with him while he had held Sakura showed that she had a firm interest in him regardless, he still wanted to make sure that the opportunist within him got the gold.

And so Tom neared the mysterious woman and started a little chitchat, "Hey, I don't think I've seen you here before."

The woman's eyes sparkled with a sheen of playfulness. "Then you must not be observant."

Inwardly, Tom enjoyed the way she was carrying herself: she was obviously playing hard to get. But unlike any other typical flirt, she was keeping it smart and cool.

Before he could respond, the woman laid her hands on his shoulders, stroking them with meaning. She moved her lips closer to his right ear and whispered, "Why don't we have a little more action?"

The faint feeling of her moist lips on the tip of his ear sent every hair on his body to stand. It became hot and hard down there, and it was suddenly too difficult to refuse her.

The woman then nibbled his earlobe and planted a trail of kisses from his cheek to a corner of his lips. In turn, Tom smashed his lips against hers, as he could not contain his wild desires anymore. Things became even wilder when she invaded his mouth with her tongue, and its taste was... familiar.

He pulled away from the kiss, as soon as a realization had hit him.

The woman's mouth carried a fair amount of the chemical solution he had just given to Sakura earlier. And now, he literally got the taste of his own medicine.

Slowly, his senses began to fail him. The surroundings were dimming, and he could imagine the woman laughing down at him as he fell down to the floor. _How the hell?_

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the doctor, Uchiha Shisui had gone off to carry Sakura on the way to the pension house under the cold, cold sky.

He carried her as he ran fast, making sure that no one would notice them. Sakura was sleeping innocently in his arms, and with her face that was slightly tinged red, she looked so... vulnerable.

 _Baka_ , he thought as he gazed at her face. Uchiha Shisui was a warm-natured person, unlike most Uchihas. Yet, it was still in his blood to have the tendency to dangerously boil up to madness and have the temper of a murderer's.

It angered him to death when he had seen how the criminal had taken advantage of Sakura's weak state and made out with her. At that moment, it was even difficult to look calm on the outside. He so badly wanted to break the man's bones and rip off his flesh alive.

As soon as Shisui had witnessed the intense make-out session between Sakura and the man, he immediately registered the happenings. From his point of view, he understood that the man had drugged her with either of the drinks near them, which could have meant that the bartender was an associate. The drug's effect was a burst of hormonal stress and reactions and dulling of one's senses. In an instant, he had created a shadow clone, transformed it into an attractive woman, and made it carry a mouthful of the solution to pour into the man's mouth through oral contact.

Luckily, Shisui's and Sakura's identities as shinobis were safe and they could still continue the mission with extra caution. The only thing that had been sacrificed from their first task was Sakura's physical identity, as the man had encountered her already on a close level.

Unfortunately, among all the misfortunes the Uchiha could bear with on this tiring day, Shisui was still left to survive a night with a seemingly drunk Sakura.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hola! For the next chapter, there will be an intense Shisui x Sakura moment hihihi. Stay updated!**

 **I am now in love with Doctor Strange. Who isn't?**

 **Favorite, follow, and review!**


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